the distinction between hope and expectation
by Ramabear
Summary: Five years ago, Bakugou's favorite nerdy victim vanished off the face of earth. The last thing he expects is to find the boy again in his final year at Yuuei- especially right in the middle of a villain attack- as a hostage to be rescued. Once rescued, Izuku is allowed to attend Yuuei to achieve his childhood dream of becoming a hero. Or so he claims. (MidoriyaXShinsou)
1. promises

**Full Summary:** Five years ago, Bakugou's favorite nerdy victim vanished off the face of earth. Even if that was the proper thing for a quirkless, useless kid to do, he never quite forgot those bright green eyes staring resolutely up at him even in the face of Bakugou's violence and explosive quirk.

The last thing he expects is to find the boy again in his final year at Yuuei- not just that, but to have him hauled into the middle of a fight by a group of bizarro villains out to smash All Might to bits (or something). Admittedly, it's hard to pay attention to a madman's stupid raving when your childhood friend (not dead. not missing anymore. still useless. still so pathetic. utterly helpless.) stares up at you with eyes that are begging for help.

Yuuei hasn't taken his rage or his vulgarity away from him, but it has given him something. Bakugou is a hero. And heroes? They save even the useless ones and save Deku he will. He doesn't have a single plan beyond that moment, doesn't need one.

Besides, when it comes right down to it, Deku has all the plans that any of them need.

 _Villain!Izuku, Canon-Divergent._

 _(Warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation and brainwashing.)_

 _This was co-written by kattenprinsen and is cross-posted onto archive of our own._

* * *

 **Chapter One: a promise to save, unspoken, a promise to protect, implicit**

* * *

Shouto tapped his toe idly against the concrete ground, listening absently as Thirteen welcomed them back to the rescue arena. His eye caught on Uraraka, who gave him a wave, a thumbs up and a wink all in the span of about two seconds. He gave a slight smile back to his friend before glancing back to their sensei. They'd gone to USJ plenty of times over their first two years at Yuuei but apparently the third years got to go to EUSJ or the _Extremely_ Unforeseen Simulation Joint.

It was, as far as Shouto could tell, about the same size as USJ proper. Thirteen explained that it was a far more dangerous edition of the first area, built to show the dire circumstances that cropped up during rescues- aftershocks, flash floods, liquefaction, and cave ins. The area they arrive at isn't static. In a time of crisis, the ground is ever shifting underfoot and as Heroes they had to be flexible to such drastic changes.

Thirteen has just started to assign their groups when a strange black mist begins to form in the air behind him.

The Pro Hero turns at someone's gasp and exclamation- Shouto identifies it as Uraraka's voice- and immediately Shouto can see tension in the man's shoulders.

The black mist spreads out from an epicenter, swirling like an ever shifting cloud and Shouto shifts his feet for better balance. Whatever this is, be it another one of their sensei's intense tests or an actual surprise and possible threat, he'll be ready to face it. He slides his right foot forward, readying himself as something pale appears in the center of the blackness.

It's a head. Shaggy grey hair that parted oddly around a hand- a disembodied hand clutching the front of this man's face- and Shouto feels his stomach clench at the sight. He's seen some injuries on his field training excursions and one of the worst was the body smashed to bits under the force of an oncoming truck. This man doesn't just have one hand but several, at least a dozen, clinging to his thin frame as he comes out of the mist.

 _Portal_ , Shouto thinks, _a portal quirk. Who is this?_

He's not alone either. A dozen, two dozen people or more, follow him out of the mist, brushing it aside like sheer curtains and fanning him.

A hulking beast of a, well if it was ever human it isn't now, is the last thing that steps out of the mist. As it does, the man with hands all over begins to speak.

"Ehh?" He says, head swinging back and forth, one wild eye visible between the fingers, "Is All Might not here after all? And after all the trouble-"

His voice is drowned out by the ever familiar, almost nearly constant sound of Bakugou's shouting explosion combination. Where Shouto, and others, linger and listen to find out who the hell these people are and what they want, Bakugou's already made his decision on the matter. He flings himself into the thick of things with firey explosions launching him forward and his voice rising in the shout of "Go die you fuckhead!"

The monstrous creature-human (God, Shouto thinks he can see its _brain_ ) lurches away from the portal with incredible speed. It's so quick that he thinks that he can see two of them, actually, but suddenly no one can see much of anything anymore. Bakugou's explosive hands land on something- possibly that creature, possibly the ground or someone else- in the center of the villains (and what else could they be, looking like that?). Fire and smoke fill the air, obscuring everyone from sight.

Shouto coughed and brought his hand up to block his mouth and nose. Thirteen is already on it, dispersing the smoke with a tiny ball of his quirk and he dismisses it once things begin to clear. Someone on the villain side clears away the smoke as well as he can suddenly see Bakugou's blond hair.

Bakugou is surrounded. He's still in the air too- except this time it's that monster creature that holds him there with one huge hand on Bakugou's shoulder. The creature is half crouched, its other arm protecting something small and, from what Shouto can see, green. Bakugou twists in its grip, kicks at the head but his strike does nothing. Shouto has felt Bakugou's kicks- the ones he gives in sparring matches are never as held back as they should be- and winces reflexively. One of Bakugou's boots to the face should have broken a bone or something.

The monster doesn't even flinch.

In fact, it only straightens up, lifting Bakugou higher into the air. This reveals the small green thing- a person- that he was protecting.

At the time, Shouto had no idea how much that wide eyed boy was going to change his life. All he knew was the boy stood with hunched shoulders, in the shadow under the creature's body, with one of it's hands curled over him.

Shouto was moving before he thought of it. This boy wasn't wearing some stylized outfit. He wasn't scarred. He wasn't carrying a weapon. He might not have been bound, but it was clear that he was there against his will. There was horror in his face as he looked up at Bakugou. His mouth moved but Shouto was too far away to hear him.

Shouto wasn't the only one moving now. His classmates surged forward, even as Aizawa-sensei went forward to attack. They weren't fourteen year olds. They weren't freshmen. They were in their final year- they were definitely able and willing to fight.

"Sensei," He said to Thirteen, coming up to his side, "You said Heroes have to be ready for anything in a rescue situation, right? Things are always changing underfoot?"

"Todoroki," Thirteen said, with a voice that said he knew exactly what Shouto was going to say next and wanted him to not say it. It was a voice Shouto had heard a lot, mostly from his sister when he was having 'conversations' with his father.

"We have to save that boy!" Uraraka shouted from the other side. "And we have to help Bakugou!"

"Kids," Thirteen said, urgent, "This isn't a game-"

"Right!" Someone else added, it sounded like Kirishima, "And we're not kids!"

Bakugou's voice cut through the air, stopping them from arguing. It wasn't his usual vulgar shouting either. There was a strange almost desperate edge to it. "Give him back, motherfucker! Let him go and I'll kill you quickly!" He had gotten free of the monster's grip, stood several feet away with villains all around and blood, that was definitely blood, dripping down his arm and hitting the ground. Bakugou didn't seem to even notice it though as fires continued to burst in his palms.

The monster held the green haired boy around the waist, up and off the ground. The boy reached for Bakugou with one hand, the other braced on that arm, and called out, "Kacchan!"

Suddenly it doesn't matter whether or not Thirteen gives them permission or whether or not Aizawa can save Bakugou on his own. That boy's desperation reaches down inside of Shouto's gut and _yanks_. He finds himself going forward again, ice forming like a shell on his right side and his classmates are rushing up with him.

What follows can only be described as chaos. He sees Uraraka propelled forward by someone -Iida probably- with the buoyancy that means she's lightened her body considerably. She lands just after Aoyama's navel beam cuts through the air and sends villains scattering. The monster one lurches along with the others, keeping the boy with one arm.

While that makes it difficult attack him with full force, it also gives the monster a severe handicap. The kind that keeps it rooted to the ground. The kind that makes it easy for Shouto to send a spike of ice screaming across the concrete and snagging it around the ankle. Bakugou, in his wrath, might not even notice the others arriving, because he's screaming obscenities and going forward again, bomb palms slapping against the creature's face. It lets out a low, grating sound of pain, reaching up for its face with one hand.

It's the same hand that's holding the boy. Bakugou grabs him by the front of his shirt and yanks him free. He kicks off of the creature at the same time, shouts, "Uravity!" and tosses the boy over his head backwards.

Shouto pays enough attention to make sure she catches him- (his mind will replay, later on, the vision of that boy floating in the air, his hand held in Uraraka's, his eyes wide and shining with gratitude and tears, his hair drifting along with his floating clothes and Shouto will wonder why he can't get the image out of his head- he's seen plenty of people rescued before, what is different about this boy?)- and that Asui snatches her out of the fray and into safety.

After that, it's all ice and explosions, it's Tokoyami's shadow and Kaminari's electricity and it's the villains with their knives and weapons and their flames and their mist. Shouto fights, not at Bakugou's side exactly, but near enough that they bounce villains between the two of them.

It's the hand guy, too, and he's got a wild eye, a crazy eye, as Shouto keeps him at bay with his ice. He's stopped shouting about All Might, though, and now seems driven to recapture the boy with green hair. His hand closes on one of Shouto's icy spikes and at the same time as Shouto tries to get the ice to climb up his arm and freeze him, what the man holds begins to disintegrate.

The man rushes up to him, ice crystals in his hair, on his clothes, hands outstretched and reaching for Shouto. "Give him back to me!" The man cries, "Izukun is mine!"

Shouto grimaces in disgust, he skips back from the man, giving up ground and hating that but he's seen what those hands can do now. He won't get caught under them and see if they can dissolve flesh as well as ice. "What do you expect heroes to do when you go around capturing kids as hostages?" He snaps, snapping his hand against the man's elbow to knock that dangerous grip aside. "We're not going to ever give him back to you!"

"Izukun!" Hand man screams as Shouto drives ice through his elbow, a spike from his own palm.

A huge explosion rocks through the air. It's large enough that some of the ice Shouto's laid down splinters and flies into the air. He flinches back, using his left arm as cover for his face. He's about to snap at Bakugou to remember there are allies here too, idiot! When he realizes that wasn't Bakugou at all.

All Might has arrived, his grin broad and his fist in the ground. Relief sweeps through Shouto.

Hand man turns on All Might, snarling, "You're _late_."

Shouto tries to use that time to strike, because underhanded doesn't mean much when you're fighting a hero like, well, Hand man. He just gets a knee to the gut for it, Hand man tossing him aside with a dismissive turn of his head and a grunt as Shouto tries to understand just _what the fuck_ happened. He'd been fighting to disable or at the very least immobilize the man. He had assumed the man was fighting back at his full ability- he was hysterical, there was no way he could hold himself back!

And yet Shouto got knocked aside, winded and gasping as he hits the ground covered with his own ice. He's shivering, he realizes belatedly, shivering and vulnerable and just because Hand man is done with him doesn't mean some other villain doesn't come after him.

A girl with a wide smile and a cat's eyes comes at him with a knife red with blood already. "Ooooh!" She cried, "You are sooo cute! What's your name?"

Reflexive icy armor protects him from getting his arm stabbed, but the knife skitters off his arm and lands in his chest instead. Shouto gasps again, once more breathless. The girl's eyes are feverish, her face flushed, and she cooes at him, "Give me all of your blood, pretty boy! I'll take super good care of it. Promise!"

Sudden electricity crackles across her body, surges down her arm and, through the knife she holds, into Shouto's own chest. He jerks as all his nerves dance in pain and his heart stutters in his chest. As the charge fades, smoke rises from the girl's shoulders and her eyes roll back in her head.

Shouto sees her start to fall but his own head turns away, his eyes rolling, as he struggles to breathe, his heart laboring in his chest. Someone, somewhere is calling his name, shouting something, but he only sees the bright blue sky above, a billowing of smoke at the edges of his vision and then nothing but blackness.

In the middle of the battlefield that was supposed to be a routine rescue training session, Shouto blacks out.

* * *

Ochako is surprised how tall the boy really is when she sets him down on the ground away from the fight. His eyes are a brilliant green, made even more startling by the frantic shine to them and the sheen of sweat on his tanned skin. She holds his arms as his knees buckle from under him and he sinks to the ground.

They're well away from the fight, with Tsuyu's tongue giving them the distance they need for safety. Ochako smiles gently, kneeling down beside the boy. She keeps calm, letting him hold onto her arms tightly as he struggles against hyperventilating. "You're okay," she says, "You're all right now. We're heroes here and we're going to protect you."

His gaze pulls away from the faraway fight and he looks at her. "H-heroes?" He looks her over, "B-but you're… Aren't you my age?"

She laughed, "Yup! We're still studying but one day everyone here will be a real hero. So don't worry about a thing! We'll absolutely protect you from any villains here!"

For a moment he gave her the strangest look, like he couldn't quite believe it, or like hearing those words hurt. But then he blinked and he gave a little smile and said timidly, "My name is Midoriya. Midoriya Izuku."

Ochako grinned, "I'm Uravity! Well, that's my hero name anyway!" She surreptitiously looked him over, searching for any obvious injuries, but other than some dirt and scratches, he looked fine. Well, his shirt was missing a few buttons from where Bakugou had grabbed him, but what could you expect? Bakugou wasn't a very, ah, gentle hero type.

"Are you okay, Midoriya? Are you hurt anywhere?" Just because she couldn't see anything didn't exclude other injuries.

"I think, um…" he patted his chest and abdomen and then nodded, "Yeah. I'm okay. Sore and uh, I'm definitely gonna feel some aches in the morning, but I'm okay."

"Great!"

He glanced past her again, "Um, don't you have to go back to the fight, Uravity?"

She shook her head. "My priority is you. Besides, my quirk is really good for rescue types, but not so much open brawling like this. I'll stay with you until the Pros show up and can help you get home!"

He gave her another odd little look. "Do you… Do you think they'll just let me go home?"

"Well of course!" She affectionately brushed some crumbles of cement out of his hair. Really, Bakugou should be more careful with his explosions! "Your family must be super worried about you- I mean, unless they don't know you're gone yet, and then they'll be worried but relieved that you're safe! Besides, why wouldn't you be able to go home?"

"Oh. I just." He hunched his shoulders, looking down. "I um. I've been gone for a while… I mean…"

Ochako leaned in to hear his muttering. "Yes?"

"Won't the Pros think that I'm one of those villains? Because I was with them so long? I mean. I mean, maybe there were times I could have escaped on my own but…" He worried his bottom lip with his teeth, "I was with them for a long time. Longer than a few days."

Ochako thought of the way Bakugou had screamed for the villains to let go of this boy. She thought of the way he'd looked so small at first, like he was eleven or twelve, not the sixteen or seventeen year old young man he really was. "...How long did the villains have you captured?"

She puts her hand over his, squeezing gently. His hands are shaking, trembling.

Without looking up at her, he whispers, "Five years."

Ochako's heart aches in her chest. It reminds her of her first heartbreak- a relationship that ended as sharp and as sudden as a flash of lightning. She had had all these assumptions and then the reality had crashed around her and broke all of it. "Oh," She whispered back, "Oh Midoriya- You must be- Your family- Oh _Midoriya_ -" She sniffles, tears welling in her eyes. She hugs him suddenly, tightly. "Don't worry about that. Don't even think it! You're safe now! We won't let those villains near you again! I promise."

He puts his arms around her, holds her tightly, and buries his face against her shoulder. She can feel his body shaking in her arms. She runs her hand up and down his back to comfort him. "You're okay," she whispered to him, "I won't let them call you a villain too. You were just a victim. They had you against your will. It's okay! You'll be okay."

She's still holding him when All Might arrives with an earth shaking punch. Ochako twists to turn and watch, Midoriya still in her arms, still holding onto her, and they watch as he fights against the brain monster and the man covered in hands. Other students are pulling back now. She sees them limping, supporting each other, in their rush to open the field to the Pro. Satou and Shouji are carrying Aizawa-sensei. Iida and Ojiro are carrying Todoroki between them.

But it's Bakugou who catches her attention. His eyes are riveted to her and Midoriya. She feels the rescued boy freeze up in her arms and Ochako swallows. His hands are fists, his mouth a twisted sneer, and he's staring right through her. He opens his mouth and she knows the first thing he is going to say will be terrible and not what Midoriya needs in his life.

She covers Midoriya's ear with one hand, holding his head against her shoulder to block the other one, and glares at Bakugou. "Don't you say a damn word, Bakugou! Don't you have any idea what Midoriya's gone through? Those villains had him captive for years!"

The others circle around them, some watching, some watching All Might's fight, some watching the gate, some with the injured parties. Ochako doesn't pay them any mind. She might have been Bakugou's classmate for two years now, just starting the third, but it hasn't really lessened her fear of him. His temper might have begun to mellow, somewhat, last year, but it's clear now that Midoriya inspires First Year level fury in Bakugou. He's too strong to be so impulsive, but Ochako knows he'll lash out whether or not others around him are prepared for it.

She has to focus completely on him, on him and Midoriya in her arms, if she is to overcome her trepidation of her explosive classmate. Ochako promised she would protect Midoriya- and that means from Bakugou too.

"Yeah," Bakugou says, biting off the word like it hurts him to say. He doesn't even look at her, just stares at Midoriya. "I fucking know. It's been five years and eight fucking months since he went missing. I _know_ that, you stupid bitch. Why the fuck do you think I had to pull him away from that fucking thing?" He jerks his hand first from his chest with _I had_ and then points back to the fight where All Might is, indicating where _that fucking thing_ still was. "Deku is fucking useless. Someone had to save his stupid ass from those fucking villains."

"You know each other?" Ochako hears someone say.

"Well then you should know better than come over here looking like you're going to hurt him too!" Ochako hears herself say, holding Midoriya closer. He doesn't resist her at all, is almost limp in her arms, except for the rise and fall of his chest, except for his one hand that rests on her arm still, firm and solid. "He doesn't need you blowing up in his face after something like this!"

Bakugou sneers. She's always hated his face when he does that, hates the way he shows off his teeth like a dog, but she's never said anything about it. Now, Ochako lifts her chin defiantly, daring him to press the issue.

Bakugou is arrogant. So of course he does. "I saved his _damn life._ " Bakugou jerked his thumb against his chest again, "Excuse me if that means I want to fucking make sure it was fucking worth saving in the first place! I didn't mean to interrupt you two as you fucking comfort him with your tits, bitch. I'll just fucking wait over here until you're done babying this quirkless little asshole."

Ochako's mouth drops open, snaps shut, opens again to speak and she can't find the words. She has never felt so _angry_ before. Sure, fine. Bakugou gets on her nerves but, dammit!, he wasn't ever this bad! Where did she even _start_ with this?!

Midoriya's hand closes on hers and pulls it down off his ear. He gives her a slight smile, "Thanks for the effort, but Kacchan's voice can be heard across town when he wants it too. Your hand doesn't do much, Uravity."

"Kacchan?" She repeats, blinking. She's blindsided by Midoriya's name for Bakugou- she hardly remembers her classmate's first name these days with how much she really wants to avoid him- and it makes her look from the sweet boy in her arms to Bakugou.

Bakugou whose cheeks are flushed and his teeth bared as he grinds them together, " _Deku_ ," he snarls out the word like it's the most foul curse he can think of. " _What. Happened."_

Midoriya's hand is warm in hers. He sits up a little, but doesn't really pull away from Ochako as he speaks to Bakugou. "Do you remember Tsubasa? From when we were little, Kacchan?"

Bakugou's head jerks back as though his spine was forcibly straightened. "Sure. He transferred out of our middle school. Who the fuck cares about that winged bastard?"

"Sometimes I saw him walking home from his school," Midoriya says. His voice is so much softer than Bakugou's but somehow it's even harder to listen to. "One time, I saw him talking to an older man. Alone. He looked scared."

Midoriya gives this abashed smile, "And you know I can't leave someone to face something they're scared of on their own, Kacchan."

Bakugou's hands open and shut at his sides. "You. _Fucking_. Useless. _Quirkless_. Little. _Shit_." Each word brings him a step closer until he's looming over the both of them. Ochako gets her legs under herself, about to pop up and chase Bakugou off but Midoriya's still holding her. His grip is warm and deceptively strong. "Always sticking your nose where it doesn't fucking belong! What the fuck were you thinking? You could have gotten-"

"Killed? Yeah," Midoriya laughs. It sounds painful. "I guess so. I mean. Tsubasa did, after all."

Bakugou's already wide eyes go wider. He pales and for the first time in months, if ever, Ochako sees something akin to shock blanch his face. "...what?"

"Kids-" Ochako isn't the only one who jumps at the sudden voice. Suddenly Cementoss is there, looking around at them like he's counting them, "Kids, it's time to get out of here."

Ochako blinks and realizes that they're not alone anymore. Pro Heroes have arrived to clear out the rest of the villains. The black mist is gone, along with Mr. Hands, and the giant beast had been laid out by All Might.

Standing, Ochako helps Midoriya to his feet. He's way taller than she thought before, even when she'd noticed his height as they sat. The top of her head barely hits his shoulder. Even Bakugou, who hasn't grown a centimeter in at least a year, blinks up at Midoriya in surprise. Cementoss looks at the young man at her side and Ochako remembers her promise.

She hooks her arm around Midoriya's and smiles at her teacher. "Sensei, we successfully rescued the civilian named Midoriya Izuku from the villain Mr. Hands!"

Midoriya makes a muffled snort of surprise but bites his lip and doesn't laugh.

"Ah, good job Uravity," Cementoss says. "We can take care of him from here."

Ochako hugs herself tighter to Midoriya and gives her teacher her absolutely most shining smile. "Sensei, if you don't mind, I really want to make sure that Midoriya is well taken care of! He's gone through a lot, you see, and I promised I would help protect him."

Cementoss's face is hard to read- he's so blocky it leads to natural expressionlessness- but she knows what it means when he rubs his hand over his forehead. "Uravity-"

"Excuse me!" Ochako jumps at All Might's booming voice. He approached from the side, scuffed from battle but still smiling brightly. "Did I hear you right, Uravity? You addressed this boy as Midoriya Izuku?"

"Yup!" She exclaimed, turning to face the man. "Midoriya, this is All Might!"

"Yeah," the boy at her side said softly, "I know. I've seen the cartoons too."

What was strange was the way All Might looked at Midoriya, like he knew the boy too. "Midoriya my boy," and the way he spoke made it sound like he knew him too. Ochako peeked at Midoriya, but his serious expression gave nothing away. "May I speak to you?" A pause and then, "Privately?"

All Might gestured off to the side with one hand. This was the least boisterous that Ochako had ever seen him. Worried, and growing more so as Midoriya gently extracted his arm from her grip, she said, "Um, Midoriya-"

"Don't worry," the boy says, smiling, patting her hand as he steps away, "Surely All Might can keep me as safe as you can, Uravity."

Ochako flushes, feels her cheeks burn, because _of course_ All Might can keep him safe? What is she thinking? "Um. Okay. I'll just…" Her voice trails off and he steps away. She watches as All Might takes Midoriya out of hearing range, his hand on his shoulder. Their conversation looks incredibly serious and she feels kind of bad staring at them so she turns away.

As she does so, she catches Bakugou's expression the moment before he's put his back to her.

Ochako never thought she'd see someone so angry and, well, emotionally one-dimensional look so… haunted before. However Bakugou was expecting this day to go, finding and saving Midoriya was clearly not anywhere on that list.

She wants to know more, but her questions will have to wait. There's no way she's going to ask Bakugou about Midoriya- not when that would just get her an explosion to the face.

So it'll have to be later. Later and from Midoriya.

* * *

He was tall and broad shouldered. He looked more like a man than a little boy but Toshinori has looked at that tattered photograph of the green eyed twelve year old boy every day for five years and seeing him in person now doesn't change that fact. It just makes it easy for him to overlay the image in his mind and see the boy he used to be in the man he is now.

And with eyes so hard, like malachite stone, not budding leaves like they'd looked when he was younger, there is no other word for Midoriya than grown man. Still, he says, "My boy, we have a lot to talk about, you and I."

Toshinori isn't quite sure where to begin. _Your mother asked me, personally, to search for you when you went missing but I couldn't find you?_ No, no, that wouldn't work. _I carry a picture of you around with me, just in case I found you while I worked in the city? But I never did?_ No, no, not that either. _I'm sorry I gave up? I'm sorry I thought you dead? I'm sorry I never told your mother that I stopped looking for you?_ No. No. That was the worst one yet.

"Can I…" Midoriya says, preventing him from having to start the real conversation, "Can I see my mom before you take me away, please?"

"Of course you-" He starts, then stops, "What do you mean take you away?"

Midoriya gives a self-depreciating smile. He spreads his hands as if to say, _this is all of me, look, and tell me what you see._ "I was held captive by villains for five years, All Might. They told me that meant I was as good as a villain myself. You're going to want to know everything I know, right? You're going to lock me up and interrogate me, right?"

Toshinori has felt punches to the gut that were weaker than this one now. It doesn't wind him physically, but it stuns him mentally. "We do want to know about your time with the villains," he says, "And anything you can tell us about them specifically will help, of course, but our priority is getting you somewhere safe. That includes letting you go to see your mother."

Midoriya glances away. His shoulders shake. He covers his hand with his mouth and then whispers, "Mom…. I can see Mom again… I thought I would never…" Tears spill down his cheeks and Toshinori hesitantly puts his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Midoriya hides his face in his hand and sobs. Toshinori stands with him as he cries and when he's finally done, he says, "Come on Midoriya, my boy, let's take you to Yuuei. We'll get you checked up in the infirmary and I'll have someone go pick up your mother and bring here to you. How does that sound?"

"Please," Midoriya says, his voice trembling with his tears. "Please. That sounds great."

Toshinori beams and that five year weight on his shoulders finally, finally, lifts.

* * *

Tomura's rage is echoed in the others that are gathered in the bar. Kurogiri has put the actual bar between himself and the others villains, gaining enough distance to keep his sanity. He aches from the fight still and a lot of the others are far worse off. They lost twenty members of the lower levels of the League and that loss will be felt for weeks now-

But the one that hurts the most is the boy's capture.

Tomura grabs a cup and throws it, but it's half dissolved before it hits the wall. He rounds away from the damage, looking for something else to turn his anger against, when the screen on the bar clicks on. Kurogiri is flooded with relief at the sight of Sensei, sitting in his shadowy chair, hands folded together in his lap.

"Tomura," that cool voice catches the wayward man's attention like hooks in a fish's mouth and drags him around. "Your status?"

"They took him!" Tomura shouts. "They took Izukun! How dare they!"

Dabi, nursing a wounded side and with a still unconscious Himiko slumped half across his lap, repeats the words under his breath. His frenetic belief isn't as burning as Tomura's but, well, they all have a special place that bears Izuku's name on their souls. Even Kurogiri is fond of the boy. He can't help it. You have to be truly heartless to not care about the boy.

"And the others?" Sensei asks. "How many were lost to the young heroes?"

"Nineteen," Tomura snaps, "Aren't you listening, Sensei? They have Izukun! We must go get him back at once!"

"Nonsense," Sensei says.

"Sensei!" Tomura's hands curl around empty air. "They _stole_ Izukun!"

Sensei's voice is ice when he speaks next. Kurogiri sees it make not only Tomura, but the others in the room, freeze up and listen and obey.

"If you think that Izukun could be captured by anyone _against his will…_ Then you sorely underestimate my son's skill or the level of his planning." Sensei leans forward slightly, his mouth turned down in a frown, "Leave him to work. We have other things to concern ourselves with."

A long pause and then, "Am I understood?"

Tomura's smile is as creepy as ever, Kurogiri thinks, but at least he's appeased and, well, laughing. "Of course, _of course,_ Sensei. We'll leave him be. We have so much more to do before he comes back. We need to be ready for him."

Kurogiri relaxes completely then. Tomura's calm again and that radiates out to the others around them.

 _Good luck, Izukun. I hope we meet again soon._

* * *

 **TBC**


	2. opinion

**Chapter Summary:** No greater rift. A sugar spun story. Two voices are better than one. Big verses Little.

 _Villain!Izuku, Canon-Divergent._

 _(Warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation and brainwashing.)_

 _This was co-written by kattenprinsen and is cross-posted onto archive of our own._

* * *

 **Chapter two: unchanging opinion, unflinching resolve**

* * *

Katsuki can think of absolutely zero reasons why he has to be in this shitty little sitting room with his teachers when all he wants, really, is to go home, ice his shoulder and bitch at his mother. Not that she would fucking listen anyway. She had stopped listening to him sometime after he hit ten and had flat out stopped hearing him by the time he got to Yuuei. At least, from the way she rolled her eyes and nodded at whatever he was saying, no matter what he was saying, that's what he got.

So he lunged headfirst into battle. What, was he really supposed to wait for his sensei to give him the all clear? They were already ready to fight, if only in fake rescues, and he wasn't going to get shunted off the field like some first year punk kid. Besides, he ran headlong into shit all the time! By this point he was a well known face around the disciplinary council room.

He could see when his teachers were pissed off at him for fucking around or fucking with property or getting himself in over his head (though that rarely ever fucking happened to him). They would glare at him, annoyed or angry or generally upset with him. It was a common enough expression, a lot of people were often pretty pissed at Katsuki. The expressions these ones wore right now?

They had a worried sort of proud look, kind of like after the first sport festival, when he'd worn his medal to class for a solid week and taunted Todoroki bad enough that he froze his desk solid. Katsuki remembers that with fondness. Solid ice burst so well when it came in direct contact with his explosions. Todoroki's face when he'd blown up the ice fucker's desk had been priceless.

That shit warranted disciplinary action. It also warranted a celebratory ice cream but teachers were never quite so forthcoming on sweets. (Katsuki made due on his own, of course.)

All those looks he was getting were undoubtedly because of the fucking asshole perched on the edge of the couch, a blanket drawn tight around his shoulders and his head of shaggy dark hair even more wild and unmanageable than Katsuki remembered it to be. Not that his memories of Deku were all that crystal clear anymore. It was easier to picture that face on the flyers his mother put up on the bulletin boards in their neighborhood than anything from his memories.

Katsuki had almost completely forgotten about Deku.

Almost.

Deku turned his head slightly, peering up at Katsuki from under messy bangs. His hair was stupidly shaggy and long, like it hadn't seen the right side of a pair of scissors in over a year. It hung around his shoulders, tangled and jarringly dark against the baby blue blanket that Recovery Girl had wrapped around his shoulders.

He narrowed his gaze at Deku. Hauled into the middle of a villain-hero battle, carried around by a giant fucking brain-exposed rage-beast, caught and tossed through the air like a ragdoll and flung out of a fight under the power of zero-gravity and somehow the unlucky asshole was fortunate enough to not have a single fucking scratch on him. Not a single one. Recovery Girl had marveled at him, in fact, making the idiot blush and stumble over his words as he muttered apologies for being uninjured.

First of all, five years and he still is a weak sack of shit?

Second of all, hello, Katsuki got claws to the shoulder and a bruise that covered more of his arm than unbruised skin did, but Deku was the one they fussed the fuck over? Fine. What-the-fuck-ever. No need to get worked up on that. He was resilient. He was properly bandaged up. He'd heal just fine on his own.

"K..Kacchan?"

Katsuki felt his eye twitch. God damn. Five years and that voice- that inane, pathetic little voice- saying that stupid, shitty nickname-

"Kacchan!" A pale, small, too small, hand reaching up for him. The other is braced on the deep blue arm of the creature holding him, holding Deku. Those big green eyes pleading, tears on his face and all Katsuki can think is-

"What the fuck were you doing with those fuckers?" Katsuki snarls, stepping forward. The teachers are keeping their distance, waiting for Deku's mom, and the police, it sounded like, before they really start questioning Deku.

Katsuki has no such qualms.

Deku flinches away from him -as he should, Quirkless bastard- and hunches his shoulders, tight and small. Katsuki takes another step forward, looming over the kid on the couch. "Well?"

"I-I-I didn't-" Deku whispers, "I didn't have a ch-choice."

It's an unsatisfying answer, but probably true. Katsuki has discovered a lot of things that are true are also unsatisfying. He leans back, giving Deku a little space and then asks, "What were you to them? Some sort of bait? A toy? A pet? What did a bunch of fucking villains want with a quirkless little shithole like you? You don't look fucked up enough for them to not give a shit about you." A sneer spreads its way across his face, "I heard what that hands guy fucking called you. Izukun. Why were you on such good terms with that hand covered fuckface villain, Deku?"

Deku ducks his chin down and his hair, his stupid long hair that looks knotted and filthy, all curls and waves and shit, obscures most of his face. Not enough of it, though, not enough that Katsuki can't see the red along his jaw and chin, spreading to his neck. His hands tighten on the blanket he's curled under and Katsuki can barely hear him when he answers. "Th-that's not… I d-don't know… B-but I wasn't-"

"Speak the fuck up Deku, the rest of class can't hear you." The words popped out of his mouth like they were back in grade school together. Katsuki can almost feel that old rage clawing its way out of his gut and into his throat. Everything about Deku was so goddamn annoying. How had he forgotten that? Why had he even bothered saving this stupid fucker?

"Bakugou," Aizawa's voice stops either one of them from speaking. Katsuki looks up to see the adults have pulled out of their other-side-of-the-room-huddle and have returned to paying attention to the two of them. Katsuki gives Deku a meaningful look - we're not done, quirkless-and then steps back. He carefully folds his arms over his chest, his shoulder pulling and complaining all the while.

"Do I really need to be here?" Katsuki asks his sensei directly. "Everyone else got to go the fuck home, why do I have to stay behind?"

"Young Midoriya has been missing for several years," All Might explains with a sweeping gesture of his hand to Deku on the couch. (As if Katsuki was not fully aware of that fact. It was he who had the empty chair in his middle school classroom for almost a full year, after all.) "We have his mother arriving shortly and surely she will want to thank the young man instrumental in her son's recovery!"

Katsuki thinks of Midoriya Inko, once his mother's friend, with a haunted, hunted look to her face, pale as she pressed the smooth paper of her missing son's flyer on a bulletin board. The way she had stopped what she was doing when she heard footsteps and turned, looked at him over his shoulder. The way she had seen him, recognized him, and glared hard at him, as if it were his fault her shitty fucking kid went missing. (Ran away, Katsuki had thought at the time. Ran away because he couldn't face being a quirkless little fuck.)

He shivers. Nah. He'd rather not see her again any time soon.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Katsuki says, "I'm not doing this hero shit to be mobbed by sobbing mothers and weepy kids. I'll leave that to you fuckers." He turns on his heel. It used to sting, talking like that to All Might, turning his back on his childhood hero but… If Katsuki wanted to be number one of all the heroes, that meant beating All Might as well.

He was inches from opening the door when it swung outwards suddenly and he stood face to face with the exact woman he'd been trying to avoid.

Midoriya Inko looks at him with wide eyes set in a pale face. Her eyes are red rimmed, her cheeks flushed and she clutches a handkerchief between her hands. She looks like she's been crying. He stands a moment too long and for that gets pushed aside as she comes racing into the room, crying, "Izuku! Izukuuu!"

Katsuki grimaces. He scowls even harder when a pair of policemen follow her into the room and then slips out. As he does, he catches Aizawa's gaze, his sensei's expression as unreadably exhausted looking as usual, but gets the feeling that there's going to be a one-on-one chat between them later.

Fucking. Fantastic.

* * *

There's a moment, right before his mom reaches him, where Izuku meets her gaze and it makes him wince internally. He hates the fear that he can see all over her face, masked only barely with the weight of concern and relief. And then her arms are around his shoulders, her fingers in his hair and she's pressing his face to her shoulder as she shakes with her sobbing.

Izuku leans into her, putting his arms gingerly around her. Remember, you're not supposed to be used to friendly contact. This is the first time you've seen your mother in five years. He takes a shuddering breath and says, just loud enough to be overheard, "Mom."

Inko cries harder. She sinks down onto the couch next to him and she's shorter so it makes him have to lean over. He doesn't care. He just curls closer to her, as if seeking her comfort instead of being the one to comfort her.

"Oh Izuku, Izuku, baby," she cries, petting his hair restlessly. "I was so- so- so scared."

She shakes in his arms so he tightens his grip until they're pressed close. "Mom," he says again, "I missed you so much-"

"I missed you too, oh my baby, my baby boy," Inko cries.

Izuku can feel eyes on them- that's not unusual, really, but in this case he keeps it in mind as he summons tears to shed on his mom's shoulder. Pro Heroes have seen tender family reunions plenty of times, he has to forget himself for a little bit, act as though the smell of his mother's perfume, her soap, her shampoo, is foreign-familiar to him. Act as though he almost forgot it, as though he's not seen her in five years.

Ah, he thinks in the back of his mind, there it is. The emotional switch triggers suddenly and his body begins to shake with his sobbing. He begins to babble- he missed her so much, he thought about her every day, he was so scared, so alone, so hungry, and he wanted her to come save him, come take him away from the bad people.

"Izuku," she says, holding his face in her hands. Her fingers wipe away his tears, "Izuku, I never stopped looking for you. Never."

"Mom-" Izuku can hardly speak around his weeping. He just hugs her again and wishes that he could have turned his head to see All Might's expression. He reminds himself that there are probably cameras in the room and if he really wants to see it, he can, later.

When he finally calms down, when they both finally calm down, it's Nedzu, the principal, who is standing nearest to them, patiently waiting to speak. Inko wipes her face with her handkerchief while Izuku uses the back of his sleeve for his eyes. Nedzu smiles, as much as an intelligent mammal can, and says, "I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion, but there are a great many questions we have for Izuku."

Inko tenses, "He just got back. He just got rescued, and you want to question him? My baby did nothing! He can't do anything!"

"Ma'am," Nedzu says, "Even if he is quirkless, he was missing for a long time. There could be all sorts of information that he knows about his captors. It will be extremely beneficial if we can get him to talk about those villains."

Inko gets to her feet, her hands fists, her body shaking, "You want to question him right now? I just got my baby boy back and you want to take him and-and-" She turns to look at Izuku, "Baby, I won't-"

"Mom," He says, gentle and soft. He reaches for her hands and takes them in his own. "I should- I need to tell the heroes what happened… If I can help stop it from happening to any other kids, then I have to."

"Izuku," she says helplessly. "Even after all this… You want to help others… You haven't changed a bit…"

Izuku smiled at her.

Sighing, Inko sat back down beside him. "If you have to talk about this, I'll be with you the whole time, son."

Nedzu looked over his shoulder to the other teachers and the two police officers. At his nod, they took seats on the couch across from Izuku's, with the coffee table between them. He took the one directly across from Izuku and Inko, crossing his little legs at the knee. "Please be as accurate as you can be, Izuku. The police here will be making an official recording of your statements." He gestured towards one of the cops, who was setting up a recorder on the low table. "We understand that so much of this is traumatizing to you, so if there are any things that you want to avoid talking about, just let us know."

Izuku nodded. He looked anxiously to one of the cops, a man with dark hair and a friendly smile.

"I'm Detective Tsukauchi," the man said, "First, we'd like to confirm your identity as. Please state your name, age, birthdate and quirk status."

Izuku nodded again. He cleared his throat and spoke, "My name is Midoriya Izuku. I'm seventeen years old. My birthday is July fifteenth. As for my quirk status," he felt a smile pull at his lips and let it. "I'm officially registered as quirkless but that's… that's not true anymore."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw All Might tense up, but he kept his eyes straight on Tsukauchi. "During those five years… A man who had access to a lot of quirks and had the ability to transfer them experimented on me with… varying success." Aizawa, standing behind the couch that the other teachers sat on, shifted his weight and hurriedly, Izuku added, "One of the quirks put in me makes my form unstable. You might have noticed it already, but I am constantly using a form retention quirk to maintain my size and shape."

Izuku pressed his palm to his chest and said, "I have an elasticity quirk that makes me extremely, um, pliable? I guess is the right word. Basically, if I don't maintain my form through the use of my quirk, I kind of start to, uh, melt?" He flicked his gaze to Aizawa quickly and then back to Tsukauchi, "So if that quirk gets forcibly stopped, I, uh, can lose my shape really quickly and, um, sometimes it takes a while to reform."

"...How long is a while?" Tsukauchi asked, blinking rapidly. He was shocked. Most of them were, Izuku could see. His mother too, though differently. She clutched one of his hands tightly, sniffling behind her handkerchief. All Might's face was serious, however, and unsurprised.

"The longest time it took me to reform was a week," Izuku said, "The shortest amount of time is a few hours, depending on my exhaustion level. Um, I can maintain it almost constantly, though, and almost perfectly during my sleep too. It doesn't take much energy to retain the shape my body would naturally be in, if, uh, I didn't have that quirk."

"What other quirks have you been given?"

Here, Izuku glanced his eyes downwards, projecting shame and guilt and sorrow with the tilt of his head and the hunch of his shoulders. He felt his mother shudder at his side, heard her whisper his name heartbreakingly, but didn't let up on the emotional influence until he heard All Might say, uncharacteristically softly, "Surely he doesn't have to list them all right now? He might not even know what all of them are…"

"We can come back to the quirks he has acquired after you answer some of our other questions about the villains," Tsukauchi said. He pulled a small notebook from his pocket and flipped it open. "Let's start from the beginning and how you were taken, Izuku. And please, you can take as much time as necessary…"

Izuku brought his eyes up, fixing them on a point beyond Tsukauchi's shoulder, and began to tell the man, the heroes present and the tape recorder everything from the beginning for the first time. At his side, his mother held his hand tightly, silent except for her occasional sniffles. She had no questions, only silent support, as he spun his story.

After all, she had heard most of it before.

* * *

Ochako waited nervously in the hallway outside the teacher's conference room. She was alone, having been sent there by Recovery Girl when the elderly heroine had returned to the Infirmary and told her that All Might had requested her presence here. She tugged at her school uniform, straightening it even though there wasn't a single wrinkle in it anywhere, and glanced down the hallway to a clock on the wall. There was only an hour left of school hours, although her class hadn't really had classes since, well, they made it back from EUSJ that morning.

After all, they were supposed to have spent all day at the arena, working on their skills. Instead they had had an extended study hall period, some review classes, and a couple hours outside to work through the post fight jitters. None of them had been allowed to go home early, though, and the injured ones were in the infirmary.

Ochako hadn't been injured herself, but Momo had gotten burnt, Todoroki stabbed (and electrocuted) and a few others had been hurt too. She had visited them rather than sit in class where an injured and absolutely furious Bakugou was.

(Better he was in class than the infirmary, though. Keeping him away from a hurt Todoroki was definitely worth the stress of having Bakugou at his desk with smoking hands and hatred in his eyes. Todoroki needed to focus on healing, without the stress of the mad bomber breathing down his neck. Figuratively speaking, of course.)

Her heart jumped in her chest when the door finally opened. A man in a trench coat- a policeman?- stepped out with another person accompanying him. He lifted his hand in a final wave to the occupants of the room and walked away with only a cursory glance given to Ochako. She tiptoed up to the door and poked her head around, "Excuse me?"

In the room was the principal, All Might and two people with green hair. Ochako wondered if this was where Aizawa had been before he had showed up that afternoon to herd everyone outside. Her gaze lingered on the strangers. The one with curly hair she recognized as Midoriya Izuku, the other one she figured must be his mother.

All Might gestured her in with one hand, "Please come in! There is someone here we think you'd like to meet."

Ochako walked in, shutting the door behind herself, and came over to stand by the coffee table. There were several cups of tea and what looked like a tray of snacks that were only crumbs now. How long had they been in this room? All day? Since everyone had returned from EUSJ? That was nearly five hours ago!

"Midoriya-san," All Might said, "this is the girl who brought Izuku directly out of the fight after young Bakugou got Izuku free of the monster. She protected him until the end of the battle, preventing anyone from getting close."

Ochako flushed, "I was only a rear guard, really. The others did all the fighting!" The modesty was reflexive, making her anxiously wave her hands as though to keep All Might's praise at bay. It always made her feel undeserving when he praised her, especially when she didn't do nearly as much as he made it sound.

"You helped save my little Izuku?" The woman said. Her eyes were red from crying, her face puffy, and Ochako immediately thought of her own mother's tearful face when she'd left them behind for the first time to live on her own for school.

"I did. Yeah," Ochako admitted.

The woman got to her feet quickly and came up to her. She first took Ochako's hands, squeezed them tightly, and then pulled the girl into a tight hug. Ochako let out a woohf of air as she was embraced, but managed to put her arms around the woman. "Thank you, oh thank you," Midoriya said, her voice soft, trembling. "Thank you so much."

"I had a lot of help," Ochako admitted. "All my classmates fought off the villains so I could keep your son safe. It was a team effort."

Midoriya pulled back, wiping her eyes with her handkerchief. "Such wonderful children. You'll all become such wonderful heroes! I just know it."

"Thank you!" Ochako beamed at the woman.

Turning to look at her son, Midoriya said, "Izuku, have you thanked this kind girl yet?"

The boy flushed and ducked his head. "Oh- Really-" Ochako began, "It's not necessary-"

But Izuku stood, the blanket slipping from his shoulders, and he bowed to Ochako. She pressed her hands to her face, flushing at the sight because wow, he was really quite tall, and his face was very cute and his hair looked so sleek and curly. He's so pretty, she thought as he said his thanks to her. He hardly looks like he was a kidnapped kid only a few hours ago.

"Thank you for saving my life and protecting me. I owe you a great debt," Izuku said. He straightened slowly, looking up at her and then glancing down and away. "Please, if you ever need anything-"

Flustered, Ochako waved her hands, "Really. It's fine. I mean. Oh gosh. I'm just glad that you are okay! Especially since you said you were held captive so long and you seemed so freaked out and I was worried you might be feeling sick from the zero gravity motions! I mean that's not really something a normal human can adjust to very quickly and Bakugou did mention you were quirkless and so I'm really just happy that you're alive and unharmed!" She paused for breath, a short one, and asked, "You are okay, right? I mean…" His eyes were swollen like he had been crying too, now that she really looked at his face.

"I am," Izuku said, "And I've felt worse than that before. Floating like that was actually kind of… fun. I guess." He gave a little smile. His hands twisted together in front of him, tugging at the hem of his shirt. It was the same green one he'd been wearing that morning. Ochako distantly wondered why they hadn't put him in some fresh clothes- clothes not given to him by a villain.

"Oh. Okay." She said, blinking. He had a cute smile too. It really was so unfair for someone so tall to be as cute as a little kid! "Um, uh." She looked to the principal and All Might, "What's going to happen now?"

"It's about the end of the school day," Nedzu said, "So you and your class will be dismissed shortly. You don't need to worry about Izuku. He'll be well taken care of."

Ochako looked at the young man again, sadness filling her heart. Were they never going to meet again? That was the way rescues seemed to go and yet…

"Um," Izuku said softly. He had his chin ducked down and he stared at the table, as though he was unable to meet anyone's eyes. "If I could… After the tests in the hospital… If I could… I mean… I always wanted…"

His mother put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. He leaned in towards her touch and said a little more boldly, "I know that the classes have already started this year and I'm way, way too late to start them but- I have quirks… Quirks that could help save people and I- I always wanted- even when I was little and couldn't- I always wanted to be a hero. To help save people. And now. Now that I'm back. Now that I'm free I just-" He finally looked up, tears in his eyes and a smile stretching across his face, "I just want to be a hero and save people like me. I want to save people who are lost like I was! So please, please let me enroll here! There's nothing I want more- I dreamed about it every day! Please let me be a student here! I'll do anything!"

Ochako felt awash with desperate hope. Just from the look on Izuku's face she could tell that this really was his greatest wish. Tears flooded her own eyes, running down her cheeks.

I dreamed about it every day!

Five years. Izuku had been prisoner for five years. All that time…

He just wanted to be a hero?

Ochako turned towards the principal and All Might, "Please!" She cried, "Please, you have to let him! Please let him join us! Classes just started this year and- and- Izuku-kun would be a good hero! I just know it! He'd help so many people!"

Izuku clapped his hands together and bowed over them, pleading along with her, "I'll do anything at all! Please just let me study to be a hero!"

Ochako's vision was blurry with tears as she looked at her own personal hero, All Might. It was embarrassing to be caught sobbing like this, but she couldn't help it! If this was Izuku's dream… If this had been the thing that kept him sane through all those years of torture! There was just no other choice!

Nedzu looked from Izuku to All Might and back. With a sigh, he said, "All right. We'll set up a special entrance exam. If he passes, he can join the third year class."

* * *

Night had fallen by the time Inko opened the door to her small home with Izuku, tall and quiet, following her. Even though it was dark, she had seen quite a few people staring. Of course, when All Might himself accompanied a woman and her son to their apartment building, people were going to notice.

Even more so if said woman's son had been missing for five years.

"Izuku," Inko said with a smile, "welcome home."

Izuku laughed and let the door shut, "I'm back. For good this time."

"Oh Izuku, I was so worried," she said, keeping her voice down. "I almost called Father when I heard that you had been caught! I only didn't because they said you were _rescued._ Rescued! You! I was so worried, so worried! How could you do that to your momma!" She fussed at him, waving her finger in his face. She was so much shorter than him that it looked like a kitten scolding a great dane.

Sheepishly, Izuku scratched at the back of his neck, "I'm sorry. But I had to make it look real, didn't I? And I told you I was going to give a surprise to you soon!" He gestured to himself, "Look mom, I'm all grown up!"

"Grown up!" She pouted, "Is that what that's supposed to be?" Inko huffed and turned on her heel, "You can't fool me with that get up, son! Momma knows exactly what you look like _all grown up!"_

"I really am sorry," Izuku said gently. "Please forgive me. I just… It had to be like that or else they'd think I was lying to them."

Inko sighed and shook her head. After a moment of silence, she turned back and reached up to pat his cheek. "Are you going to stay around the house looking like this? You're so tall, Izukun, and what is with this long hair?"

"What? Don't you like it?" Izuku blew on a lock hanging in his face, "I think it softens my look up, you know? Otherwise my size would be too intimidating!"

"You don't have to be so tall!" She admonished, "Little Izuku would have been just as adorable!"

"Little Izuku is only good for distracting Katsuki," Izuku replied. He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Big Izuku needs to catch All Might's attention."

Inko tugged on his hand, drawing him deeper into the house. "Fine. Fine. But every once and a while, will you shift back into your little self? I like being able to pick you up and cuddle you still." She tightened her grip, although she didn't look at him as she took him to the kitchen, "Big or small, with a thousand quirks or none at all, you'll always be momma's baby boy."

Izuku stepped up and hugged his mother from behind, effectively stopping her in her tracks. "I love you, Mom. Thank you so much. For everything."

Inko wiped at her eyes, already tearing up again. She thought that she had run out of tears when Izuku had first gone missing, but she had been wrong. She thought that she had cried her very last when Izuku had returned to her the first time, but she was wrong again. And here she was again, crying over her son. She should have known better than to think she'd ever stop crying.

As long as she was Izuku's mother, her darling son would bring her tears. Inko didn't mind, though, Izuku was her son and she loved him no matter what he did, no matter who he became.

"Izuku," she pat his hands, still around her abdomen, "Are you hungry? How about I fix you up your favorite? You've got to get ready for that test tomorrow, don't you? So you can get into Yuuei."

Izuku picked her up, hugging her tightly, "Yeah! I'm super hungry mom! Can I help you make dinner? Can I?" He carried her into the kitchen like she weighed nothing.

Inko laughed and only pretended to struggle, "Ooh, put down your poor mother! Yes you can help! You're a good son, aren't you?"

"Yes!" Izuku beamed. "And you're the best mother! I love you!" He set her down in the kitchen, by the fridge.

Inko, still laughing, wiped tears from her cheeks and reached up to ruffle the soft hair on her son's head. "I love you too, Izukun, I love you too."

* * *

 **TBC**


	3. thoughts

**Chapter Summary:** Let them explain. Make first contact. Get that smoke out of your eyes.

 _Villain!Izuku, Canon-Divergent._

 _(Warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation and brainwashing.)_

 _This was co-written by kattenprinsen and is cross-posted onto archive of our own._

* * *

 **Chapter three: the thoughts that linger**

* * *

The large lecture room was filled with whispering. Shouto stood off to the side, arms folded across his chest. It had been three days since the incident at EUSJ and he had made a full recovery of his stab wound with proper rest and Recovery Girl's help. A single glance told him that all the students of 3-A and 3-B were there. In fact, not only were all the students of both classes in attendance, but most of their teachers were lined up against the far wall. All of his class's regular teachers as well as 3-B's were there.

Well. Almost all of them. Aizawa, Blood King and All Might weren't there, but the rest were. They didn't say a word to each other, but didn't try to stop any of the whispering of the students, either.

Uraraka bounced up to his side, hands clutched as fists and eyes bright. "Todoroki-kun! Do you know what's happening?"

He shook his head. "Do you?" His gaze flicked past her. Iida, Asui and several others of his class, most of Uraraka's friends in fact, were drifting towards them. As Yaoyorozu came closer, he asked her as well, "What about you, Class President?"

"Only that there is an announcement and we should wait here patiently for the arrival of our homeroom teachers and All Might," Yaoyorozu said with a shake of her head, "So only the same as the rest of you."

"What could it be about?" Uraraka wondered, "I mean, do you think it's about… him?" She glanced over her shoulder nervously, but Bakugou wasn't anywhere close to them. He was near a window, leaning a shoulder against it, with a good several feet of distance between himself and the rest of the students.

"It's been three days since the EUSJ incident," Iida said, sharing that same glance towards Bakugou. Even saying that acronym could be a problem, if Bakugou were to hear.

He's such a petulant child, Shouto thought before actively dismissing his not-quite-rival-but-definite-annoyance from his mind. "You said that the principal was going to give him a test, right? Maybe they needed that time to evaluate him- not just from the entrance test but from the whole kidnapping thing."

"Five years is a long time to recover from…" Yaoyorozu said quietly.

"Hey!" came a shout from elsewhere in the crowd, "Everyone quiet down and pay attention!"

Shouto turned to look and saw that the door at the end of the room had opened. In came their homeroom teachers as well as All Might and the principal. They crossed the front of the room as students turned and shuffled around to get a better view. There was a small stage and the four adults took it. The principal cleared his throat and said, "Many of you must have heard by now of the young man rescued during the attack at the Extremely Unforeseen Simulation Joint. Some of you were not only present but instrumental in his rescue. The name of that young man is Midoriya Izuku. Now that he is free of his villainous captors, he has expressed a deep desire to become a hero. Yesterday, he underwent a remedial entrance exam and was evaluated by the same heroes and teachers that evaluated all of you three years ago.

"Midoriya Izuku passed."

The crowd erupted in murmuring again. Shouto tensed. He glanced over his shoulder to see Bakugou with his eyes fixed to the front of the room and his body utterly stiff in anger. He didn't even look like he was blinking or breathing. Shouto grimaced. That asshole was going to be completely out of control for the rest of the damn day.

All Might stepped forward, "You might have heard rumor about what happened to young Midoriya. Some of it is true, some of it is just gossip! Remember, as heroes you must learn how to discern fact from fiction so that you can act with confidence in achieving your goals!"

The principal nodded his head, "It is to that end that we have chosen, with Midoriya's consent, to reveal to you some of his history. Please keep in mind that this information is shared with you not to assuage your curiosity, but to remind you that there are those around you that you must be patient and kind to. Your responsibility as heroes extends not only to those whom you protect but those who fight at your side." He stepped to the side and allowed Aizawa to step forward and recount the information.

"Shortly before turning twelve years old, Midoriya and a former classmate of his were captured by villains. Both he and his classmate were experimented on. This resulted in the death of his classmate, but Midoriya survived." Aizawa's tone was flat, almost disinterested, but Shouto knew he wasn't the only one listening intently. "The experimentation in Midoriya resulted in his acquisition of multiple quirks. For the five years he was held captive, many quirks were given and taken from him and he was tested endlessly on their strengths, weaknesses and uses. It is unknown just how many quirks he has now, although he will be spending time with faculty discovering just what he has access to."

One of the students raised her hand but immediately asked as soon as she did, "Are you really letting him into Yuuei? Isn't seventeen a little old for the first year classes?"

Aizawa gave her a blank stare, "...He tested high enough to pass the written exams that are at your level. Midoriya will be attending a third year class. He will be in 3-B, along with Blood King."

The room erupted in shouting, some of it dismay, some of it simple surprise. Uraraka was one of the dismayed. "I was hoping he'd be able to join our class!" she whispered, frowning.

"Certainly our teachers are aware of Bakugou's reaction to… him." Iida said, cautious as ever, "Putting him in 3-B will assure some distance between the two of them."

"Sounds like a good plan," Shouto admitted, "I certainly don't want to be stuck in the same classroom as the pair of them. Can you imagine? It'd be like Bakugou was fifteen all over again. No thanks."

"But Izuku-kun is so cute!" Uraraka said, "I wanted him in our class! 3-B can have Bakugou instead!"

"...don't you like girls?" Shouto asked her.

"Shut up," She snapped, "Izuku-kun is differently cute. I'm not interested in him like that."

"We are all aware that this is a very unusual circumstance!" All Might's voice rose above the shouting and the students quieted down. "But Midoriya is quite the unusual young man. His drive to be a hero is no less strong than any of you! You must do your best to welcome him back into this world, as he has been left alone and mistreated for many years! Many of the experiences you all went through these last few years, not just as students but as teenagers are foreign to him. He will rely on all of you to help adjust him back into this world after so long in the darkness."

Shouto felt a strange clenching in his chest. Had Midoriya really consented to all this being revealed about his past? Was he really accepting the figure that was being portrayed? Shouto could close his eyes and still see that boy, made of green, covered in green, floating in the air under Uraraka's touch. He had been, in that moment, bathed in sunlight, without a drop of this darkness on him.

The boy that All Might spoke of sounded like a cowering child, unable to speak, to move, to act on his own. Like a child thrust too soon into the cruel adult world-

Like a boy that was constructed for a purpose and not allowed, even once, to be just himself.

The whispering was back, but Shouto could tell they were accepting of Midoriya without having to really listen to the words. He felt cold, colder than normal, and flexed his right arm. There was stiffness in his sleeve and he crushed the use of his quirk without a second thought. To have such a reaction to just hearing about Midoriya's life…

Shouto wasn't sure if he wanted to meet the other boy at once or avoid him at all costs.

Suddenly, at his side, Uraraka was floating above the crowd, "All Might!" She called, "Sensei! When is Izuku-kun going to join us at school? Is he going to be here today? Tomorrow? When!?" There was concern in her voice, clear as a bell.

"He will join the regular classes this afternoon," was the reply. "You all have the morning to come to terms with this information. Remember, though he may smile and seem just normal, there is a lot of pain inside that boy. All of you can help bring out the light in him if you do your very best work, young heroes!"

A cheer went up but Shouto's voice didn't join it.

Do I want to see him? A boy who is… A boy who was an experiment like me?

What kind of purpose was he made for?

* * *

Standing outside the classroom door, Izuku took in a deep breath and then let it out slowly. He straightened his shoulders, gave himself a little nod and then lifted up his hand for the handle. This is it, he thought, this is the beginning.

Well actually, he amended as he pulled open the door. It started a long time ago, didn't it? This is just where I finally get to start gathering all my pieces… He ducked his head slightly as he edged into the room, letting his straightened shoulder sag slightly to display are more shy posture.

Blood King, the homeroom teacher for 3-B, greeted him with a broad grin. "Class," he said, "Here is our newest student. Please come introduce yourself."

The staring was something he was going to have to get used to, it seemed. Izuku hesitated on his first step but then, slowly, made it to the front of the room. He let his gaze sweep over the class before glancing down. He didn't let it linger on a single person for more than a second, not wanting to give anything away yet. Instead, he bowed quickly.

"My name is Midoriya Izuku," He said quickly. "I apologize in advance for being kind of, um, awkward but I've… I've not gone to school since I was twelve. I'm really looking forward to making friends and, uh, doing fun things like regular people do!" He looked over the room again, this time making sure everyone was paying attention to him. Assured that they were, he gave his broadest, most dazzling smile. Along with the expression he projected as much cheerful determination as he could. "Please, take good care of me!"

In the silence that followed, Izuku counted twelve blushing expressions, but only one of them mattered. He glanced to Blood King, lowering his bright smile to a softer one. "Which seat is mine?"

"Ah… any that are empty…" The teacher said. He gestured to the room. Izuku nodded and shuffled down the aisle towards the middle and back. He took an empty seat between two other boys, settling in a little awkwardly. Maybe he hadn't thought through his whole 'way fucking tall' plan… The seat was smaller than he'd like and the desk too…

"Hey," said the boy on his left. "You sure about that seat, Midoriya?"

Izuku blinked and looked up. "Who are you?"

The girl sitting in front of the boy turned around and frowned at him. "Sen, introduce yourself first!"

"Kaibara Sen," the dark haired boy said, "And really, you could sit on the other side of me if you want to stay in the back, dude."

"I like this spot," Izuku said. The spot was fine. The chair was annoying. He could probably fix that later though. "What's wrong with it?"

Kaibara looked past him. Izuku turned to look at the other boy, on his right. Immeasurably tired eyes blinked back at him, set in a face that bore only the tiniest hint of pink from that initial smile charm used on the whole class. He had his chin in his palm, his head turned towards Izuku and Kaibara.

"Oh," Izuku said. "Hello. It's Shinsou Hitoshi, right?"

Kaibara made a startled noise. Both of Shinsou's brows lifted. He nodded his head once.

Izuku smiled. "I'm Midoriya Izuku. It's so nice to meet you. Let's be friends from now on!"

Several more students turned around in their seat abruptly. In front of him, the student with a speech bubble for a head had at least a dozen exclamation points pop up. The girl from before audibly gasped. Izuku looked around and asked, "What? Isn't that how people make friends?"

"You don't just ask like that," Kaibara said, leaning over, lowering his voice. "I mean, like, little kids do that!"

That got his desk shoved at by the girl in front of him. She had grown a size or two as well, Izuku noticed. He looked at her and asked, "What's your name?"

She blinked in surprise and then said, "Kodai Yui." The student in front of Izuku turned and introduced himself as well, his name appearing on his face as Fukudashi Manga. No one sat in front of Shinsou, though, and there was no one else behind them.

"Nice to meet you two also!" Izuku said cheerfully. "Let's be- Oh. Um. Instead of asking to be friends? What do I do?" He looked at the four students around him for suggestions.

Let's be friends works for me! Fukudashi's face, or what worked as a face as far as Izuku could guess, displayed a thumbs up shortly after that message. Izuku mimicked the gesture back to him.

Kodai rolled her eyes and did it too, "I'm fine with that."

Kaibara gave him a double thumbs up. "Nice to meet you too, Midoriya." He gave a nervous glance again to Shinsou. "But uh, if you know who that is… Are you really sure…"

"This seat is fine." Izuku insisted. "Well, I mean it's a little small…" He glanced to Shinsou, "You're tall too, right? Doesn't it feel like these desks are a little small? Huh?"

Shinsou blinked at him in silence. His brows still hadn't come down. Izuku leaned over and whispered, "Is your desk not too small? Should I talk to someone about it? Or do we just sit with it like this? Is it some sort of test?"

"Dude, really, he's not going to talk to you." Kaibara said, "Shinsou doesn't talk in class unless a teacher directly calls on him."

Izuku frowned thoughtfully at this, "So you only talk when you're responding to people, but no one needs to respond to you?"

Shinsou shrugged a shoulder, but his brows came down. For using strictly non verbal communication, his face is considerably blank, Izuku noted. He's making it hard to read his expression on purpose, not to mention the fact that he could possibly use sign language in placement of verbal dialogue- unless-

Izuku was pulling out one of his notebooks without thinking about it, flipping to a page half filled with notes as he asked Shinsou, "Does your quirk only work through your voice or are you able to instigate control over others with gestures as well? Specifically, I'm asking if you've ever attempted sign language as a way of using your quirk."

"Uhh…" That was Kodai, Izuku noted absently, basing that on the position and sound of her voice.

Shinsou sat up straight at his question. Izuku couldn't tell if that was because of what kind of question he had asked or because he had asked it at all. He wrote down both possibilities in his notebook, along with a few quick observations.

"Dude," Kaibara said in undertone, as if trying to prevent Shinsou from hearing. Izuku wanted to turn around and tell him not to bother, but, well, it would probably come out a little too sharply edged. "Are you trying to get him to brainwash you?"

At this, Izuku did turn around. He knows his smile is knife sharp just from the way Kodai and Kaibara both sit back in their seats, eyes going wide. "After what I went through to get here, to this seat right now, do you think that I want to be brainwashed?" He let that settle for a moment before letting his smile soften into something kinder. "Besides, it's not like Shinsou would use his quirk on me. I've known him for barely five minutes and he's done literally everything he can to ensure that he doesn't even accidentally use his quirk on me or anyone else around."

Fukudashi's got a shadow and a sweatdrop on his face, but both quickly fade when Izuku glances to him. He turns back around, though Izuku can tell from his hunched shoulders that he's been affected by those words. Looking to Shinsou, he said, "Sorry for asking you those questions. Old habits die hard, you know? I used to study heroes when I was little. I wrote all about them in notebooks. Their strengths, weaknesses, costumes and changes made to their outfits. Even favorite foods or colors when I found them out. Being home again… It brings it all back."

Shinsou didn't say anything, but this time he turned his head away. Izuku sighed, wrote a note to himself in his book and turned the page.

Getting Shinsou on his side wasn't going to be very easy at all.

But if it were, where would be the fun in that? The game is pointless if there isn't any challenge…

* * *

After the final bell rang, students poured out of Yuuei, chattering loudly in the hallways and out the door. Hitoshi moved slowly through the flood, his bag a solid weight on his shoulder, his hands tucked loosely into his pockets and a yawn begging to come out. He indulged in the gesture, covering his mouth with his hand and ignored the way it made a couple of girls from one of the other classes look at him funny.

As if there were anything funny about being feared by your own schoolmates, that is. He took his normal route out the school, the quickest one down the stairs and to the front gate. Already he was tallying up the homework he would have to do, the training he wanted to accomplish and how he was going to spend his few free hours that night before passing out at last.

If he was lucky, he'd get a few decent hours. If he wasn't, he'd get one or two good ones and the rest filled with those wonky dreams.

Hitoshi rubbed at his eyes, pausing so he wouldn't end up tripping over himself or anyone else. When he finished he was only more tired than before and the press of people even worse. He allowed himself to be swept up into it and carried outside.

The crowd didn't disperse like it usually did, however. There was something holding it back. Taller than some of the other students, Hitoshi had a pretty good view of the mild explosion that went off at the edge of the group.

Like most of the other students at Yuuei, Hitoshi had a pretty good understanding on different types of explosions and what level of danger they presented. Not only was that kind of information useful out in the field as a hero, but it had a special significance to one of the top students of the school: Bakugou Katsuki.

The smoke that rose from the small plume of fire signified that Bakugou was well and truly pissed. The crowd of students circled around the scene, parting like water around an immovable rock in the center of a river. Some continued on, but others were like Hitoshi. They clustered at the edge, watching curiously, as Bakugou tormented another student.

Who has he got now? The smoke was clearing at last to reveal-

Midoriya.

Who stood a good four inches taller than Bakugou, with one arm upraised to cover his face from the smoke and flame. Bakugou had a fistful of his uniform shirt, one of the lapels and the tie it looked like, and he was pulling hard on it. Hitoshi was close enough that he could see the flexing pulling Bakugou's uniform tight across his arm and shoulder, but…

Midoriya wasn't even budging. He lowered his arm slowly, a solemn expression on his face, and he said, "I'm sorry, Kacchan-"

"I said for you to stop fucking calling me that." Bakugou snarled. His free hand was smoldering, more smoke rising. "We're not little kids anymore, you dumb fuck."

"But, Kacchan-"

"WHAT DID I JUST FUCKING SAY!" That hand came up, fire blossoming and-

Nothing.

No fire. No smoke. Nothing.

Bakugou jerked his hand back, staring at it like it betrayed him. Midoriya had both of his hands up in a defensive gesture, but… there was nothing in them either. An audible gasp rose from the crowd.

"How did you-" Bakugou began, "What the fuck did you just fucking do you little shit!" He shoved his hand back against Midoriya's chest, but while he had to stagger back from the motion, Midoriya only shifted a foot back to brace himself.

"How about we make a little deal?" Midoriya asked, hands still up, giving a little smile. "You don't use your quirk on me and I don't call you that name anymore. Does that sound fair?"

"You don't have any fucking right to make any goddamn deals with me you quirkless-" Bakugou's words stopped in his throat. His eyes were wide. They weren't the only ones. Hitoshi stared right along with him at the smoke curling out of the corner of Midoriya's smiling mouth.

Midoriya gave a nervous laugh, reaching up to scratch at the hair on the back of his head. He coughed, letting out a small plume of smoke, and then it stopped entirely. "Sorry," He said, still smiling, "But I have a bad reaction to being called that. I'm not quirkless anymore. I haven't been quirkless for a long, long time."

He had stopped Bakugou's explosions -somehow- and with that smoke in his mouth, a tell-tale sign of fire breath if Hitoshi ever saw it, it as clear that Midoriya did have at least one quirk. Sensei said he was experimented on, Hitoshi thought, looking the green haired kid over slowly, thoughtfully. Who knows what kind of quirks lie dormant in his body?

What is he even doing here, allowed to walk around with the general public? Is anyone even sure he didn't become a villain himself? Five years with them, given any quirk he could feasibly want- That'd be enough to turn any quirkless wanna-be hero over to their cause. Hitoshi frowned. His own quirk was terrible for combat purposes- he had to rely on base strength and speed without any sort of enhancements. Without being able to actively use his quirk on a regular basis, he might as well have been quirkless himself.

If I was given something like fire breath… or whatever it was he used to stop Bakugou's palms from bursting…

Would I have switched sides too?

"Yeah? Well I feel the fucking same about that goddamn name," Bakugou said. "So don't you dare use it again."

"Don't use your quirk against me again."

Gritting his teeth, speaking as though the words actually brought him physical pain, Bakugou said, "Fine."

Midoriya beamed.

There was no other word for it. His smile spread across his face, bright and shining, dazzling almost. It was similar to the one from earlier that afternoon. Hitoshi felt his face heating up completely involuntarily, just like it had before. He looked away from Midoriya, knowing instinctively that he was the source of that reaction, and saw that there were flushed faces on students all around him.

Sitting in the back of class, barely listening earlier that day, he hadn't noticed it then- had been too alarmed at his own blushing to notice- but now.

Had Midoriya's smile done that to them at that time too?

Even Bakugou was red faced, though the vein bulging in his forehead made it seem more like anger than, well, whatever the hell it really was. Another quirk? How many does he really have? How did he get all of them?

"Thank you, Bakugou," Midoriya said. "I'm glad we could come to an understanding!"

"Yeah, yeah, fuck off, Class B loser," Bakugou snarled, but it had very little force behind it. "Before I fucking change my mind." Even though he told Midoriya to leave, he was the one who stomped away first, smoke curling from his fist again.

Midoriya straightened his tie, smoothed his hand over his jacket and said goodbye to the explosive bully. As he stepped away, his gaze flicked over the crowd and caught Hitoshi's own. At least, so he thought, until Midoriya lifted his hand in a wave goodbye to him.

Hitoshi hadn't even spoken to him yet- had no plans on speaking to him ever, really- so he glanced over his shoulder to see who it possibly could be that Midoriya was waving too. After all, Class A had been the one to rescue him from the villains. He certainly could have a closer bond to them than anyone in Class B.

But there was no one behind him waving back.

Looking back to Midoriya, he raised a brow and pointed to his own chest. Midoriya smiled, nodded, and waved again.

Hitoshi lifted his other brow and did nothing else. Midoriya was...weird.

He was trying. Trying very, very hard. To be Hitoshi's friend.

When his second wave didn't get a response, Midoriya shrugged and walked away.

Hitoshi did have some experience with people who wanted to be his friend as much as Midoriya did. None of them had been kidnapped by villains, but the intent was all the same.

Midoriya wanted access to his quirk.

The only question is, who does he want me to use it against, and why?

* * *

 **TBC**


	4. unspoken

**Chapter Summary:** Gossip never dies. Show off your quirk. Get a drink. Get into a fight. All the while: smile, smile, smile.

 _Villain!Izuku, Canon-Divergent.  
_ _(Warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation and brainwashing.)  
_ _This was co-written by kattenprinsen and is cross-posted onto archive of our own._

* * *

 **Chapter Four: the weight of unspoken words**

* * *

The very first thing Itsuka heard when she walked into class on the last day that of that weird, weird week, was her best friend Yousetsu saying, "Itsu, that new kid is fucking weird as _hell."_

She sighed, setting her bag on her desk. "Good morning to you too, Setsu."

He gave her a little wave. He sat at his desk behind hers, the chair turned around backwards, with his arms crossed on the back and his chin resting on one of them. "Seriously though, did you hear what he did yesterday?"

"You mean sit down and ask Shinsou to be his friend?" She asked, because, well, that had been pretty weird. She only knew because Yui had told her all about it on their walk to the train together.

"No he and Baku- Wait he did what?" Yousetsu sat up, blinking in surprise. Twisting around in his chair he peered at the back of the room, but of course Midoriya hadn't arrived yet. Shinsou wasn't in his seat either. He had a habit of spending as little time in the classroom as possible.

"Wait, what was it you were going to say?" Itsuka demanded, "He and Baku-who, Bakugou? From 3-A?"

"Bakugou totally called him out after class yesterday," Yousetsu said, turning back around to face her, "He got right up in Midoriya's face too, shouting like the fucker he is. And then when he was about to use his bomb palm to, I don't know, Midoriya's face or something, it just… didn't work."

Itsuka stared at him. "What."

"The smoke went out. The fire didn't come. No explosion. Nothing. Just _voip!_ Nothing." Yousetsu waved his hands vaguely. "Midoriya just put his hands up like this and the explosions didn't fucking even happen."

Itsuka sat down in her chair, very grateful that it was there. _"What?"_

"It was _amazing,"_ Setsuna said, leaning in from her seat. She had her hands clutched together and hearts in her eyes. Well, metaphorical hearts. She wasn't Manga after all. "He just stood there when Bakugou started yelling at him like he wasn't afraid at all. Then he made Bakugou's quirk fail and demanded that Bakugou never use it on him again!"

"He did?" Itsuka whispered. She couldn't believe it. Absolutely couldn't believe it.

"And." Yousetsu added, lifting a finger, "He totally agreed."

"What? Why? How?"

"So that rumor that they were childhood friends?" Setsuna said, "Totally true. Mina in 3-A told me that Bakugou won't let them even say Midoriya in front of them because it pisses him off so bad! They knew each other before Midoriya was kidnapped."

"Yeah," Yousetsu said, "And apparently Midoriya was calling Bakugou by some childhood nickname but Bakugou wanted him to stop. So in exchange for not using his quirk on Midoriya, he did."

"...I can't believe I missed all of this," Itsuka said, "What the hell."

Setsuna leaned forward even more, she looked like she was about to fall out of her chair, "How do you guys think he did it? Do you think he has a quirk like Aizawa-sensei?"

"Didn't anyone ask?" Itsuka asked, "Like, what happened after he got Bakugou to agree?"

"He just waved goodbye to someone and walked off," Yousetsu said. "I was too surprised to ask, plus, I mean. I haven't even really met the kid yet."

Walking past them on her way to her desk, Ibara said suddenly, "You have the chance to if you want. He was out in the hall talking to Shinsou just a minute ago. I passed him on my way here."

"With Shinsou?" Setsuna gaped.

Ibara nodded. She settled into her desk, next to Yousetsu. Brushing some of her vine hair behind an ear, she said, "Yui told me they talked yesterday, too. Or at least Midoriya talked to Shinsou."

From a few seats behind them, Yui leaned forward. She grew a couple of sizes larger, to join the conversation without leaving her seat, "He totally did. He just sat down next to him and asked to be his friend! Can you believe it?"

"I'm telling you," Yousetsu said, "The kid's totally fucking weird." He seemed to notice what kind of company he was talking to and amended, "Like, weird for a hero-student. C'mon, don't tell me none of you think he's weird."

"Maybe," Setsuna said, leaning back, "But I'm not rude enough to say so."

The door opened behind them. Itsuka wasn't the only one who turned to look. Shinsou stepped into the room, noticed immediately that they were all staring and narrowed his eyes. Without a word, he walked the edge of the room to his seat in the back. Midoriya drifted in after him. He was still surprisingly tall- something about his face made it seem like he wasn't supposed to be like that- and he hesitated longer at the front of the room.

He gave a timid little smile, held onto the strap of his bag with both hands and nervously walked towards them. Itsuka stood suddenly, just as he reached her desk.

"Midoriya?" She asked, "My name is Kendou Itsuka. I'm the class president. If there's anything you need, help with work or with the school, please let me know."

Midoriya smiled at her. It was- It was- Well it wasn't as bright as the one he'd given yesterday, but Itsuka felt herself relax a little at the sight of it. She smiled back and gave a little bow when he bowed to her first. "Thank you, Kendou," he said, "I'm still getting the hang of, uh, well being able to just kind of go anywhere, you know? I got kind of lost on my way to class this morning… Got caught by 3-A, actually…"

"Ohh!" Setsuna chirped, "Were you visiting Bakugou?" She smiled, "We heard you two were friends as kids!"

The tall boy winced. "Uh. That's...one way of putting it. I guess."

"What were you then?" Setsuna asked, unperturbed by the awkwardness. Itsuka was trying to motion for her to shut the hell up, but the other girl didn't have much of a filter connected to her speech centers it seemed. "Childhood rivals? I guess if you could stop his quirk from working whenever you wanted he wouldn't really like hanging out with you, huh?"

"Didn't you fucking listen at _all_ during yesterday's fight?" Yousetsu jumped in, "Hell, Setsuna, Bakugou said that Midoriya was…" His voice dropped off suddenly and he shifted nervously in his seat.

Midoriya gave a little smile, lifting a calming hand, "It's all right. But when I was little, I was diagnosed as quirkless. I have the double jointed little toe and everything."

"But-" Setsuna started. She was cut off by a yelp as the boy behind her, Juuzou, kicked at her chair and glared at her. "What? I'm just curious!" She scowled at him and then turned a pout to Midoriya, "You'd say something if I was bothering you, right? Right?"

"Uh…" he looked nervous again, "Who are you?"

"Tokage Setsuna!" She said cheerfully, and then introduced everyone around her. "That's Honenuki Juuzou, Awase Yousetsu, and Shiozaki Ibara. We're all really super curious about how you stopped Bakugou's quirk from working? Can you tell us how you did it? Do you know how?"

"I uh," Midoriya shifted uneasily, "I have a few quirks. One of them lets me affect the chemical makeup of a space about, uh, this big." He held up his hands, putting about the size of a beach ball between his palms. "It really only works with something like air or gas, where there's a lot of little molecules in a loose space and if it's not contained like in an open air situation. Meaning, of course, that in an enclosed space I have a difficult time sectioning out different types of chemicals. I can't really draw any in and I can't manipulate more than one type at a time, but most air is nitrogen based and flame needs oxygen to explode. I just removed the oxygen from around Bakugou's hand. His nitro-sweat can't explode even if he triggers it because once it's separate from his body, the flames need air to breathe, just like people do."

Itsuka wasn't the only one who stared at him in silence, a little awed.

Yousetsu recovered first, "And you just… You were able to do that to his hand before he struck you? But why didn't you do it the first time he hit you?"

"Oh. I wasn't ready for it then. It takes some effort to switch between quirks," Midoriya said with a little shrug. He lowered his hands again, letting them curl around the strap of his bag, holding tight like he was afraid it was going to be taken from him. He didn't seem to notice his grip on it, though. "I was focusing my attention on another one when he approached me."

"How many quirks do you have?" Setsuna asked, "What do they do?"

"A few," he said, "And a bunch of different stuff." He shrugged, "Some of it I'm still learning but the ones I use the most are my retention quirk and my primary quirk. Other than that, I'm trying to learn my fire breath one a bit better and the gas manipulation. I figure that those two would work best together, you see, because oxygen really can bolster a fire and my fire breath tends to come out, uh, funny."

"Funny?" Itsuka heard herself ask. "What do you mean by that?"

Midoriya gave a little smile, "We're doing a quirk exercise today, aren't we? I can show you guys it then. Class is about to start after all."

"Wait, there's still a few minutes left," Setsuna insisted, "I want to know more!"

"I'm not going anywhere any time soon," Midoriya said, "But I want to talk to Shinsou some more before class starts."

Itsuka felt her stomach drop at that. Yui had said that Shinsou hadn't talked back to Midoriya but Ibara had mentioned seeing them in the hallway… Lowering her voice, she leaned in and asked quietly, "He didn't manipulate you into being his friend, did he, Midoriya? He's got a pretty dangerous quirk, you know."

Midoriya's smile froze on his face and she had the impression that it was less of a smile and more of a baring of teeth. "We all have dangerous quirks… But we're all still here learning to be heroes, right? Shinsou isn't any different than us."

She didn't have anything she could say to that. Neither did anyone else. She turned and watched as Midoriya walked to the back of the room and sat down in his seat. Shinsou glanced her direction, meeting her gaze for just a moment, before she had to look away. She could hear Midoriya brightly greet Shinsou and ask him about their homework.

Yousetsu had to get up to turn his chair back around for class. As he did, he said quietly to her, "Hey, don't worry. Shinsou hasn't mind controlled anyone in like, a year or something, right? Midoriya will be fine."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." She agreed, but only half heartedly.

Uncharacteristically quiet, Setsuna whispered, "We'll just have to keep an eye on him. And make sure Shinsou doesn't pull anything funny. Midoriya's still pretty new to all of this regular highschool stuff. If we become his friends we can protect him pretty easily."

"Well," Itsuka sighed. It was an uneasy feeling, befriending someone for ulterior motives- even if it was to help them or protect them, "I guess."

Blood King walked in a few minutes later, so Itsuka put it out of her mind. Everything would be fine.

* * *

Hitoshi slid to a stop, panting, at the end of the obstacle course. He was one of the last to make it, spitting dust from his mouth as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Two years and he was still near the bottom of his class as far as physical ability went. He wasn't the worst, of course, but still. Practically quirkless.

The thought made his lips twitch into something resembling a part of a smile. _Isn't that what Bakugou called Midoriya?_ Yes. Yes it was. Where was the new kid anyway?

Making his way from the end of the line, he travelled along the outside of the course to where the rest of his class should be. Midoriya had, effectively, promised to show of his 'funky' flame breath and their Sensei, Waterspout, had said that he could after they'd finished their main workout for the day.

There was already a crowd when he made it back, although the others had gone through different obstacle courses. After all, different quirks demanded different landscapes to navigate to help build their skills. A few of the other students were scuffed up, their gym outfits scraped or pulled from where they skidded against concrete or stone.

They stood around Midoriya, who looked nervously around at them, hands flailing a little as he spoke to to Kendou and her friends. Hitoshi lingered towards the back of the group, curious but more cautious. He wanted to see if Midoriya would do that weird smile thing again. He hadn't yet, though he'd given quite a chilly expression when talking with Kendou that morning.

"Sensei," Tokage asked, "Can we _please_ see Midoriya's quirk now?"

Waterspout sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Since everyone's done now… Fine, fine. Midoriya? Are you okay with this?"

"Well, um, yes?" He laughed nervously. "I haven't used this one very much. It's still a little. Weird?"

"Unstable weird? Or just, unusual weird?" Waterspout asked.

"Unusual." He said, "There were… complications? It's not like normal firebreath…"

"All the more reason to show it off!" That was Tetsutetsu, shouting and excited. "C'mon, bro!"

"O-okay…" Midoriya cleared his throat. "Can I have uh… Can everyone stand behind me?" He looked around for a moment and then his gaze settled on a blank part of the grounds. "Could I have some help setting up, first?"

"Sure," Waterspout said, "What do you need?"

"Tsuburaba, could you make a wall of air along here to here," Midoriya said, gesturing with his hands. "And Bondo, if you could use your quirk to make a low cement barrier? Sensei, if you could be prepared for putting out uh, small fires? The grass might catch and uh… The landscape is gonna change a bit."

Sensei nodded and the two boys Midoriya called out went to help. Together, they formed a small area that was blocked off by three low walls of concrete on three sides. Midoriya stood at the point of the triangle when they were done. He squared his shoulders, brushed his hair out of his face and took a deep breath.

What came out of his mouth wasn't flame, exactly. Hitoshi felt his mouth drop open when _magma_ came pouring out of Midoriya like he was an _active fucking volcano._ It was hot, crazy hot. Hitoshi could feel it from where he stood and other students were pulling back from it automatically. As soon as the lava hit the ground, the grass burnt up into black char. It rolled slowly across the ground from the point of origin that was a _human fucking being,_ and seeped to the edges of the triangle. It began to cool, but not before it hit the concrete and began to boil that too.

Midoriya wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, something red hot and shining on his lips, and then flicked his hand down at his side so drops of the molten rock splattered to the ground beside him and let up curls of smoke. He coughed, once, a belch of black smoke escaping his mouth, and turned to give a little smile. "See? Not exactly fire breath."

Stunned. Silence.

Hitoshi, weirdly, thought of an old kid's movie he'd seen once, a long time ago.

"...He's like Lava Girl."

"He totally is," said a girl next to him. Then she suddenly jerked and whipped around to stare at him, her eyes wide, and her vines flared around her head. Hitoshi stared at her too. That was the most he'd said to...well… anyone all year. Shiozaki took a step away from him and then another.

Hitoshi carefully closed his mouth and looked away from her. Didn't they know anything? He could activate his quirk _at will._ That didn't mean everything that came out of his mouth was a command. His hands tightened into fists and he shoved them into his pockets to hide that. Shiozaki quickly moved away from him.

The other kids ran up excitedly as Waterspout looked carefully over the new rock form addition to the training yard. Midoriya was bombarded with questions that Hitoshi didn't bother listening to. He didn't care. Couldn't care. His heart was beating hard in his chest. He had just spoken without even thinking about it. Was it really that much of a surprise…?

"Do it again!" came the cry.

"Add that gas manipulation quirk to it!"

"Can you make flames at all or just magma?"

"Do it again! Do it again!"

Hitoshi slunk farther back from the group. He just wanted to get a drink, change out of this stupid jumpsuit and get back to class-

"That's enough kids," Waterspout said. "3-A has the field today too. Time to head back into the locker rooms. Midoriya, are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just, uh, hungry." He flushed, looking abashed, "I mean, the magma doesn't just come out of nothing… So if I could get a snack or something?"

"Ohh," said one of the other students. Tokage again, probably. She was kind of a chatterbox. Hitoshi was pretty glad she sat at the front of class. "Is that why you went to get a snack before gym?"

"Exactly. It totally depletes me if I use it too much and if I let my blood sugar drop to low, uh…. Well I just don't want that to happen." He smiles. Waterspout says he can go and he says, "I'm not exactly sure where one is, do you mind if someone comes with me?"

"Of course not," Sensei turns, clearly about to speak to Kendou, the class president, when Midoriya turns that smile to Hitoshi and says, "Let's go, Shinsou!"

Even Waterspout is thrown for a loop, "Eh?" She blinks, comically almost. Or it would be if Hitoshi wasn't blatantly aware of the fact that everyone was staring at him. The ones who weren't surprised were wary, distrusting.

Yet Midoriya walks up to him as though this is perfectly normal, and maybe in his fucked up little traumatized brain it is. Hitoshi feels a shiver crawl its way down his spine as he wonders, maybe, that Midoriya likes him so much because he reminds the weird kid of people he used to be around. Does he remind Midoriya of villains?

Because there was no way that this kid was as tortured as everyone believed. Not with a smoothness to his charm and sociability like that.

"Do you mind?" Midoriya asks him, smiling. Hitoshi wonders if this is what it feels like to be hit with his compulsion quirk. He finds himself shaking his head, almost saying _"fine, let's go"_ before he remembers Shiozaki's horrified expression and bites his cheek to keep his mouth shut. The two of them walk away together, Midoriya all smiles and humming contentment, Hitoshi staring straight ahead so he doesn't give the other teen wary glances.

He leads Midoriya back to the building in silence. Well. Silence on _his_ end.

Midoriya fills the air with odd, odd things. He went through the same obstacle course as some of the other enhanced kids, although his quirks weren't for mobility, and did fairly well. While running the course, he apparently was aware enough to keep an eye on anyone else he saw, and recounts the curious things to Hitoshi as if he actually cared about his classmate's quirks.

The rambling is distracting enough that Hitoshi almost forgets that Midoriya has been at the school for less than one school day.

He clenches his jaw, wanting to ask, _"How do you know everyone's quirks already?"_ But his learned silence is a hard habit to break. Besides, he can think of possibilities on his own, keep an eye on Midoriya and figure out the most likely option over time. Unfortunately, he had weeks of time to spend observing Midoriya. The boy showed no sign of moving chairs to any other part of the classroom and was, infuriatingly so, determined to continue this charade of friendship.

They reach the locker rooms before the others and Hitoshi, out of habit, keeps his eyes forward and changes as quickly as he can. He's done just after Midoriya, who smiles again at him and asks, "Are there vending machines or something? A school lunch store that's opened before lunch?"

Hitoshi sighs. He motions for Midoriya to follow and for half a second he's certain the other boy will say _"No. I'm not going with you until you say something."_ Hitoshi hasn't had _that_ kind of forceful "friend" yet, but it was only a matter of time. But he doesn't. He just follows and this time, when he talks, it's about the television shows he's discovered in the last few days.

They find a vending machine easily enough and Hitoshi stands to the side as Midoriya orders a snack and a drink. "Do you want anything?" He asks, coins clinking in his hand, "It's the least I can do, making you walk around with me on the campus." Again, a little smile.

He smiles a lot, Hitoshi thought as he pointed to one of his favorite drinks. Midoriya buys it and hands it over. They lean against a wall and drink together. Class changes while they're doing that and they can hear a classroom down the hallway get loud. Hitoshi doesn't realize that this spot is a direct route between the third year classroom and the locker rooms until he hears all-too-familiar shouting.

3-A is headed down the hallway, chattering excitedly as any class of students would. 3-B is taking a different route of course, they're headed toward a different extra curricular class and will go back up to the classroom proper just before lunch. He chose this vending machine not only because of its selection, but because of the placement. The fewer people who saw him with Midoriya, the better.

He had forgotten about 3-A.

3-A has not forgotten about him. Or Midoriya.

"Izuku-kun!" Is the cry and very suddenly there is a girl, bubbly smiles and cheerful tones and bouncing footsteps running right towards them. "It's you!"

Midoriya smiles to her too. "Hey, uh, Uraraka."

"Please!" She said, "Call me Ochako! We're friends, aren't we? And now we're yearmates too! Although you should have been a classmate! Why didn't you try and get into 3-A?"

"Well, 3-A didn't really have the space for me," He said, "And the teachers weren't a good match."

"We have All Might as a teacher!" she said, "He's amazing!"

"Yeah, but Blood King is pretty cool. And Waterspout is good for managing my quirk." Midoriya shrugged. He still leaned against the wall next to Hitoshi, who had yet to even be acknowledged by this Uraraka.

As if she could tell he was thinking that, she turned her attention to him, "And you! Stealing away Izuku-kun from us-"

"Ochako," Midoriya cut in, cheerful. Hitoshi felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Was he the _only_ one who heard the ice in his voice? "Shinsou is my good friend. He didn't steal me away from anyone, either. I wanted to be in 3-B."

"Good friend?" She pouted, "But you call him by his last name, don't you?"

"When Shinsou wants me to use his first name, he'll let me know." Midoriya said, "But that doesn't change the fact that I consider us good friends."

Hitoshi drank from his can in silence. His gaze slid past the girl, who kicked up less of a fuss at that, and to the other kids of 3-A who walked past. There was Monoma, tilting up his nose a few degrees more just because a 3-B kid was around. And a few others looking over in concern, not at Midoriya, though. To him. Iida was one. Tokoyami another. Asui gave them both a quick, curious glance before slipping up close to Uraraka and saying something about being late to class.

Todoroki, though, he was looking at Midoriya strangely. Hitoshi couldn't read the expression, but it seemed conflicted. As though different desires pulled at Todoroki with enough strength that he couldn't quite cover it up.

Hitoshi glanced to Midoriya, to see if he noticed and, ah. Yeah. He definitely had. He was giving a bright smile to the ice user and Hitoshi felt… odd looking at that smile. It was as if water were being poured from a pitcher beside him, close enough that the spray of droplets were hitting his skin. Midoriya was directing that smile to Todoroki, but Hitoshi felt just a hint of what it carried.

Curiosity. Gnawing at his gut like an animal. Poking at him until he turned to really give his attention. Suddenly, his tongue felt lighter, like he really could ask those questions he had with no repercussions at all.

Hitoshi held his drink can to his lips and kept it there. He wasn't about to talk. No way. No how. The look passed, as Todoroki did, and though Midoriya turned his attention away, Hitoshi saw the other student glance back over his shoulder twice before he left sight.

The entirety of 3-A had almost passed by the time Bakugou appeared. When he stood across the hall from Midoriya, he stopped and stared hard at him. He visibly grit his teeth, lips pulled back like the snarl of a dog. Hitoshi held perfectly still. Bakugou was pretty damn merciless, even when it came to his fellow heroes in training. And there was nothing but bad blood between the two of them, as Bakugou thought his brainwashing quirk pretty despicable.

 _If he knew about Midoriya's smile, would he feel the same way about him?_ But a glance from between Bakugou to Midoriya told him that it wouldn't matter much anyway. There was no love lost between those two at all.

"Looks like you found your own nerdy kind, Deku," Bakugou sneers. "The ex-villain kid hanging out with the villain-quirk kid? Don't you think you're both in the wrong fucking place? You don't fucking belong here."

"Hey," Midoriya said suddenly to Hitoshi. He offered the bag of crackers he had bought, "Want one? They're pretty good."

"Deku!" Bakugou takes three steps towards them, "I'm fucking talking to you, asshole!"

Hitoshi looks Midoriya dead in the eyes, hoping he has some sort of fucking plan that he's using, and takes a cracker. He bites it in half. It is the loudest sound in the hallway.

Midoriya smiles at him. "See? Tasty."

Hitoshi nods.

"I am going to grind you into the fucking dirt," Bakugou growls, "You little piece of shit Deku!"

"You know," Midoriya says, light and conversational, "The last person who called me Deku, I mean, last I heard, right? Before you? He died." He took out one of the crackers himself and held it between his thumb and first two fingers. "They caught Tsubasa with me and he screamed that a shitty little Deku like me should just fuck off if I knew what was good for me…" He was looking at the cracker he held. It was shaped like a little animal. A panda? Or a horse? It was hard for Hitoshi to tell.

"You fucking-"

"Do you have any idea what they did to him? How much he screamed and screamed?" Midoriya slowly lifted his gaze up from he cracker. "They took his body and pumped it full of chemicals and stripped all his skin off. They _broke_ him," he snapped the cracker in half. "And then put him back together again. But it was too late. They couldn't salvage anything but his wings." He tossed both halves into his mouth and chewed them with thoughtful slowness.

Bakugou stared, his face pale. His hands were fists and they lowered to hang limp at his sides. "...Why...What?"

Midoriya licked crumbs from his fingers and then said, "I just thought you'd like to know what happens to people who call me Deku." Smiling, he pushed off the wall and took a step towards Bakugou, "So please don't do it again, Bakugou."

Hitoshi's eyes widened as he saw Bakugou _take a step back._ Almost instantly, he took it forward again, as if to pretend he never went backwards at all. "You little fucker," Bakugou snarled, "You didn't even try to help him did you? You're the reason Tsubasa got caught and killed? Aren't you?"

It's a low blow and one that hits. Hitoshi sees it in the way Midoriya's face drops his little smile and his eyes go wide. He lifts his chin and stares Bakugou down. In his hand, the can he's holding crunches and the juice spills out. His fingers curl and curl inwards until the sound of crushing metal stops and his knuckles are white. "You know nothing about what happened that afternoon, Bakugou," Midoriya whispers.

The vicious look on Bakugou's face fades into something guarded and definitely afraid. He brings his hands up as fists defensively. It's not a stance Hitoshi has seen before and he's glancing around, looking for the best place to go if they start actually fighting in front of him. He doesn't trust for a second that Bakugou won't use his quirk and there are several large windows in this hall. That's a lot of glass that could go flying at any second.

But running from a fight… Was that what he was here to learn? As a hero?

He licks his lips and opens his mouth, "Hey."

Automatically, Bakugou snaps, "What?"

To Hitoshi's surprise, Midoriya responds too, "Shinsou?"

Immediately, their faces relax, tension draining out of them.

Hitoshi's heart is beating like a drum in his chest, heavy and loud and almost painful. He blanks for a second, almost forgetting how his own quirk works. It's been so long, at least a year, since he's used it like this. He addresses Bakugou first, because he can see Midoriya's hand twitching in a weird way and that seems like all sorts of bad. "Bakugou, you have class right now. Go join your classmates in the locker room. When you're there, walk into the door frame to break out of your trance."

Bakugou turned on his heel and began to walk without a single look back. Taking a breath, Hitoshi let it out in a sigh. He kept his distance from Midoriya, who's eyes had half closed but hadn't left him yet. Midoriya watched him, even in his trance.

"Midoriya," he began, keeping his voice steady, "Calm down. He's gone now. He can't hurt you with his words or his quirk. Take a deep breath and let it out, slowly. Do that five times." He watched as Midoriya obeyed him, breathing in and out. His chest rose and fell, taking in more air than Hitoshi thought him capable of. When his hand had stopped twitching and he had done all the breaths commanded, Hitoshi released him from the mind control.

Midoriya blinked, once, twice, and then rubbed his hand over his eyes. He muttered something under his breath that sounded almost like, "God, what a callback that was…" and then seemed to shake his whole body. While he had been controlled, both the snack and the crushed can fell to the ground. He bent over, scooped them up and then turned to fully face Hitoshi.

Stiffening, Hitoshi waited for… something. He wasn't sure what.

What he got was a smile. A bright one, though there wasn't any push of emotion along with it. "Shinsou," Midoriya said, "Thank you." Then he looked at the can in his hand and laughed, "I should probably get some paper towels to clean this up or something… Is there a bathroom around here?"

He lifted his hand, pointed, "That way. I-" and suddenly all those months of silence and control over his tongue meant nothing because the words were all tumbling out, "I just used my quirk on you. On you and Bakugou. Midoriya, I can't believe you're just okay with that. I could have done anything to you!"

"You could have," Midoriya says, "But do you know what you did?"

"What? I- Of course I do. I was right there I just-"

"You helped me." Midoriya laughed, gentle, and for once Hitoshi didn't feel like someone was laughing at his expense. "You were a hero, Shinsou. My hero. You saved me."

Hitoshi's heart lodges itself in his throat. He doesn't think he could speak even if he wanted to now. His hand drops to his side and he just stares. Stares at those sincere green eyes looking back at him. At the smile that fades into a serious expression. At those curly black locks that frame his face so well. At this tall young man with who knows how many quirks, with strength to turn a metal can as thin as a string, with everyone trying to befriend him, help him and-

"That's why you're here, isn't it?" Midoriya's voice seems oddly gentle, as though he's the one who is coaxing Hitoshi out of a panicked state. "That's why you went to Yuuei in the first place. The most difficult Hero school to go to. The one that produces the highest quality heroes around. That's what you wanted to be, a hero. More than anything else, you wanted to be a hero."

Midoriya smiles at him, "Right?"

In a daze, Hitoshi nods his head. "Right." He can't quite… wrap his head around it. Around the whole thing. From beginning to end, from the vending machine to the girl to Todoroki to Bakugou to him using his quirk to this, right now. He can't quite figure out how he got to this point until-

"Shinsou?" Midoriya asks.

"Yeah?" He blinks and looks up. When did he start staring at the wall? Nevermind. That didn't matter. What did Midoriya want?

Midoriya holds out his hand, the one that isn't sticky with juice, and asks, "Want to be friends?"

This time, Hitoshi doesn't even think about it, doesn't let himself think about how people will react, whisper, stare. It doesn't matter. Won't matter. Midoriya will be there.

He took Midoriya's hand and said, "Call me Hitoshi, please."

When Midoriya beamed at him then, there wasn't any room left in him for regret.

* * *

 **TBC**


	5. wolfhound

**Chapter Summary:** A welcome visitor. Decompression in action. Orders for your general.

 _Villain!Izuku, Canon-Divergent.  
_ _(Warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation and brainwashing.)  
_ _This was co-written by kattenprinsen and is cross-posted onto archive of our own.  
_

 _Rama: so when I actually name a quirk in this fic I'll be making a note of it at the bottom of the chapter. Named quirks are the ones with full capital letters instead of just being referenced in their action: IE: a retention quirk vs Direct Contact quirk._

* * *

 **Chapter Five: a cat, a princess and a wolfhound walk into a bar**

* * *

Izuku took two steps into his house before he let out a groan from the depths of his lungs and dropped his school bag on the floor. He toed off his shoes as he staggered in, slumping down lower and lower until he was nearly shuffling on his knees across the floor. Reaching the couch, he climbed over the side, dragged himself over it and stretched out over the cushions. Not satisfied with dangling his feet over one edge and his hands not reaching the other side, Izuku activated his elastic quirk and stretched out his spine and limbs enough so his elbows hooked over the arm. Pressing his face against the cushion, he groaned again.

"Izukun?" His mother's voice drifted in from the kitchen. "Honey?"

"School is _exhausting,"_ Izuku said in reply. "Non-stop chatter. Non-stop attention. Non-stop quirk use. My brain is going to ooze out my ears and drip onto the floor."

Inko came into the room. She sighed when she reached the couch. "Look at you," she admonished, "Izuku, my couch is not shorter than you. What are you doing?"

"I'm going to melt into the cushions," he said, "and go to sleep for forty years." He turned his head almost all the way around, his elastic quirk making him incredibly flexible. "Is that okay? Can I just do that?"

"You can do anything you like," Inko said. She pat his hair gently, "But I thought going to school was what you needed to do right now."

Izuku turned his head back around and buried his face into the cushion. She was right, of course. Everything he had planned would be easier to accomplish with his pieces all in one place instead of scattered around like they would be after graduation.

"Besides, isn't school more fun to go to with all those other kids? You can make friends and, well, I suppose you already know most of the basic lessons in literature and math but the hero classes! They must be a lot of fun!" Inko carried on brightly, as though Izuku wasn't actively trying to meld with the cushions. Well. Not a _actively_ actively. He didn't want to be fibrous on top of everything else for that day. "Didn't you get into class with that boy you like? Did you meet him? You should tell momma everything!"

Izuku twisted around again, so that his mother could clearly hear him, and frowned. "Research shows that teenagers are supposed to be embarrassed talking about romance with their parents. Statistically speaking, I should be attempting even harder to bond with the couch or disappear into the floor. Please excuse me for neglecting common teen behavior, mom, because I absolutely met him and he is just as cute as he was on TV." He ended up grinning at his mother. It took only a flicker of attention to regain his normal, well, at least semi-standard, size and then turn off his elastic quirk.

Inko beamed at him, "That's wonderful honey! I was so worried about you in school! You haven't gone since you were just a sweet little thing and, well, I know _that child_ goes to school with you."

Izuku shrugged a shoulder, "He's barely on my radar. He's in another class altogether so he can only bother me between classes or after school. Most of the time he's too busy with his head up his own ass to even see me."

"Good." Inko came around the couch to sit with Izuku. He gathered his one leg up underneath himself, still limber even without a quirk active, and tucked the other knee to his chest. "So about the boy in your class. The one who likes cats?"

"Haha, he's got this cat binder, mom. Oh my god," Izuku rolled his eyes, "It's the cutest thing ever. He tried not to let me see but of course I did anyway."

"Ohh nooo," Inko gasped behind her hand, giggling in delight, "Izuku! Momma wants to meet this boy! You should bring him home!"

"I will, I will," Izuku smiled at her. He propped his cheek on his knee, "Not yet, but hopefully soon. I made a lot more progress with him today than I was expecting. I got him to speak and use his quirk with only a little prompting. He has such a soothing voice… Although he's a bit stilted, I mean, he quotes these things he's read online like, all the time. I guess he spent a lot of time online instead of dealing with other people from school."

"Well you find out what his favorite meal is so when you _do_ invite him I can make it for him! Any friend of yours is welcome here, Izukun." She reached out again, brushing his hair back behind his ear and smiling gently at him. "I'm so glad you get to come in as yourself. It was nice before, when you could visit, but it just isn't the same as having you live with me again."

"I'm sorry about that," Izuku said, pitching his voice lower. He met his mother's gaze. For a moment he debated activating his Direct Contact quirk, but decided against it. They had already said enough that if they were being overheard by any surveillance there would be questions. Just because he had checked his home out a week ago for anything didn't mean that there hadn't been a bug put in since then. "We probably shouldn't get in the habit of talking about that, Mom. It'll be trouble later on if we do. Do you understand? I want you to be safe." He took her hand in his, "You're important to me and I want to protect you."

She squeezed his hand. "I understand." Tears glistened in her eyes as she whispered, "My own little hero… You've grown up so well, Izuku."

Izuku laughed and nodded. "I'm glad you think so." It hadn't been easy to get to this point but, as his mother took his face in her hands and kissed his forehead, Izuku thought it was probably worth it.

Before they could sit in silence for too long, there came a knock at the door. Inko blinked in comic surprise as she rose from the couch, muttering in wonder about who it could possibly be. Izuku sat back on the couch, relaxing with his eyes shut. He had a pretty good idea that it was-

"Daichi-san, welcome!" Inko said delightedly, "Please come in!"

"Thank you, Inko-san," a genteel voice murmured back, carrying just enough so Izuku could hear. There was the sound of him stepping into the house. "I heard word that you had finally found your son?"

Izuku rolled his head along the back of the couch so he could see the doorway. He cracked open an eye to see the tall man taking off his hat as he addressed Inko. She waved her hands as she spoke, flustered as though the man wasn't a common visitor. "Oh yes! Yes! Izuku was rescued earlier this week by a lovely girl in Yuuei. We've been so busy getting him checked up and enrolled in classes that I just haven't had time to contact you!"

"That's all right," He said, "I thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing myself. You are, after all, my longest client and I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't see your son returned to you myself." He looked up, giving a gentle smile to Izuku. His elderly face was lined from stress and pale from how much time he spent indoors. His hair, though more silver than black, was thick on top of his head. "Hello Izuku-kun. My name is Daichi. I was the private investigator that your mother employed in the search for you."

Izuku bit his lip to keep from snorting. He put his arm over the back of the couch and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Daichi-san. I'm glad that my mother wasn't searching alone for me all these years."

There was a long pause where Izuku bit back his smirk and Inko pressed her hand to her lips to keep from giggling. Abruptly, Daichi broke his stoic expression, laughing hard enough he started coughing. He thumped his chest and cleared his throat. Inko fluttered nervously at his elbow, worried about his health.

"I apologize, Inko-san," Daichi said. "And to you too, little master. Ahh, I simply could not contain myself any longer!"

"So we aren't under surveillance anymore?" Izuku asked, perking up. "I thought they'd at least bug my front room, you know?"

Inko looked briefly alarmed, but calmed as Daichi pat her shoulder. "There was some attention for the first few days, of course, but heroes are very busy and policemen are easily distracted. Why, just the other day, there was as series of mysterious attacks with strange burn patterns and reports of dark flames on the other side of the jurisdiction and they had to focus their efforts on that."

 _Dabi,_ Izuku thought with a grin. "How is Father doing?"

"The master is… adapting." Daichi said generously, "He does do that thing still where he looks up from his work to ask your opinion, of course, so he clearly does miss your presence."

"Oh the poor man," Inko murmured, clearly empathizing. "How is his health? Izukun mentioned he wasn't doing so well when he last saw him."

"It is stable," Daichi said, "He is dedicated to his work and that maintains him."

Here, Izuku turned away to hide his instinctive frown. Father's _work_ was something Izuku had disagreed with. Not entirely, of course, but in a few fundamental ways, there was contradicting desires. It was why he had left Father's laboratory. He wouldn't have been able to achieve his goal if he worked within the man's shadow.

Inko and Daichi chatted for a while, about Father and, bewilderingly, the same soap opera they both liked, while Izuku stared at the far wall. His mind was clipping along at a quick speed. A lot of work had been accomplished this week. He had nipped the Bakugou problem in the bud, insinuated himself into 3-B, started the lure on Todoroki and had gotten Hitoshi to speak to him- and those had only been the things he had _planned_ on doing.

He was quickly discovering that this infiltration business took a lot more effort and a level of finesse that was higher than a typical heist. His head was still swimming with information, and though he knew his mother was definitely a willing ear, he knew that there were just some things better said to others. Others with, how should he put it, less innocent ears.

When he turned back around, it abrupt enough that Daichi stopped midsentence, looked up and asked, "Little master?"

"Is Himichan at Kuro's tonight? Could you drop me off there?"

"Izukun," Inko frowned, "Are you going out?"

"Just for a few hours, Mom," Izuku said, getting to his feet. "I read that decompression after things like school or work is important and one of the best ways to do that is to discuss things with friends. Well, Himichan is my friend and I know she'd love to hear what's going on."

Inko gave a sad look that Izuku read easily as, _But your mother can help you too!_ And he gave her a calming smile. "I'll tell you more over dinner. I promise! I just, well, it's part of the teen experience, isn't it? Hanging out with friends?"

"Well, I suppose… And that is important for your image right now…"

Izuku smiled at her. "Thank you. I'll be back tonight. I promise."

"Okay." She agreed with a nod.

Daichi tucked his hat back on his head, "Both Toga-san and Dabi-san should be at Kuro's place. I can indeed escort you to that location."

"Fantastic. Just a moment, I'm going to change." Izuku ducked away, already undressing by the time he reached his bedroom door. He slipped out of his uniform, tossed on casual clothes and a hoodie that fit him as a seventeen year old. He paused on his way out, shifting shape and tightening his belt to adjust for his smaller size. As he reached the door, his mom gave a little gasp.

"Izukun!" She cried, "You're little again!"

Fourteen year old Izuku brushed the hoodie back from his tangle of hair and grinned. "Yeah. This is how I look when I hang out with Himichan and the others. Isn't it cute?"

"Look how small you are!" She whispered, stars in her eyes, "I could cuddle you for days!"

"Mom, please," Izuku rolled his eyes. "Be reasonable. You could only cuddle me for a few hours before you got bored."

Daichi held out his hands, "Are you ready to go now, little master?"

"Yup," Izuku said. He flexed his shape shifting quirk again, and instead of just making himself appear as his younger self, Izuku shrank down and adjusted into a completely different species. In moments a small, extremely fluffy black cat crouched on the floor where he had stood. Izuku pounced, landing in Daichi's arms.

The man let out a _whoof_ of breath as he caught the surprisingly heavy cat. He settled Izuku in his arms and then gave a nod to Inko. "I'll see your son to his destination safely, Inko-san."

Inko gently pat Izuku between the ears. He closed those bright green eyes of his and purred at her touch. "You be a good boy, Izukun," she said, "Don't get into any trouble you can't get out of!"

Izuku purred louder. Daichi gave Inko a nod and turned. He stepped back out of the Midoriya home, the black cat curled in his arm and his expression bland. On their way out to the street, they passed a familiar blond with an irritated expression. He gave them one red eyed glare, but Daichi amiably smiled at him. Izuku stared back at him, eyes narrowed. Bakugou spat in annoyance as they passed each other, grumbling about "stupid fucking animals" and Izuku purred.

* * *

The door was an inch ajar, just enough for a single black paw to bat it open further. Nudging it with his nose, Izuku slipped into the dimly lit and sparsely populated bar and padded across the floor silently. Delicately picking his way through the chairs and seats, he leaped up onto a stool at the bar. Lifting a paw, he pat the counter, and gave a "Mrow!" for attention.

Kurogiri turned, his light eyes crinkling in amusement. He glided over, "Well hello there, are you lost, little stray?"

Meowing again, Izuku shook his head. He pat his paw against the counter again.

"Well, if you're in the right place," Kurogiri continued, "Would you like to order something to drink?"

Izuku perked up. He drummed both paws on the counter, meowing repeatedly. Hell _yes_ would he like something to drink!

"Hmm, let's see if I have something suitable for a cat…" The man of mist chuckled to himself as he drifted away to search the fridge behind the bar. Izuku sat happily on the stool, his bushy tail curled around his feet. After a minute or two, Kurogiri returned with a glass of milk. He placed it down in front of Izuku. "Here you go. Would you like to drink it here or at the table with your guests?"

Izuku stood again, gave another "Mrow!" and hopped down from his seat. He crouched on the ground, arching his spine and stretching, pulling at his quirk until he rose to his feet, fourteen in appearance and wearing his too-big sweatshirt again. "Meow!" He said automatically. Coughing, he picked up the cup of milk, "I mean, thanks. And I'll take this to my table."

"It's good to see you again, young one," Kurogiri mused, leaning back. "There's been quite a buzz about your activities. Is it true that you melted half a building down in your entrance exam?"

Izuku flushed, "It wasn't a building, it was a bunch of robots. But yes. Machinery doesn't do well against magma, after all." He flashed a grin and slipped away, "I'll have to tell you about it later!"

Kurogiri chuckled and waved him off.

Izuku made his way back through the tables, grinning and greeting the different associates that were there. He got more than a few congratulations and half a dozen slaps on the shoulder before made it over to the booth that Himiko sat in, stars in her eyes, a drink cradled in her hands and the biggest grin Izuku had ever seen outside of a mirror. "Himichan!" He cried.

"Izukun!" She squealed back. He sat beside her and pulled her into a tight hug. She hugged him just as tightly back, giggling. When she pulled back, Himiko cupped his face in her hands, her painted nails sparkling as brightly as her eyes. "You scoundrel! Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Class been out for an hour," Izuku said, rolling his eyes, "You would know that if you actually attended any."

"Booooring~" She sang. "No way am I gonna bother with that stuff! Teachers and homework and smelly boys? Ew!" She gave him a smooch on either cheek, her pink lipgloss leaving a glimmer of strawberry on his skin. "I'd much rather have you go and then come tell me all about it!"

Across the table from them, Dabi dropped into his seat. He lifted his chin, grinning at them, "Ay, boss, welcome back to the joint."

"Hey Dabi," Izuku said, his face still caught by Himiko. "Looking sharp as always. How're things?"

Dabi shrugged a shoulder, "Y'know. The usual. I thought you were held up in your house under examination for a while…"

"Yeah, they let me out early," Izuku said. He closed his eyes and said in a mocking tone, "Apparently, I'm a very well adjusted young man and my mother should be proud that I'm recovering so well from my experience." He snorted in laughter, "That and all I need now is to reintegrate into normal society like your average teenager."

"Ahh," Dabi nodded. "High school's a bitch. I do not envy you one single fucking bit, kid."

Izuku's shoulders sagged. His head would have drooped as well, but Himiko was stroking his hair now and he didn't want to disturb her. "I have homework. _Homework._ It's mind numbing at best and just tedious bullshit the rest of the time."

"I told you high school was boring," Himiko said. She finally let go of his face and scooped up her drink. It was mostly whip cream and fruit but Izuku knew it was as strong as it was sweet. "There's no point in going at all."

Izuku dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, "Oh really? These pictures of my new friends says otherwise." He flipped it open, smirking as Himiko scooted even closer to peer at the screen. He pulled up the first one and she immediately gasped.

"Is that _her?"_ Those stars in her eyes turned to hearts as she cooed at the image of Uraraka giving a peace sign next to Izuku. "Is that _Uravity?"_

"Yeah, she's in class 3-A," Izuku said, "In fact, she was instrumental in my whole rescue scene and acceptance into Yuuei. She's adorable even when she cries."

"Oohhh," Himiko groaned, "I'm so jealous! I want to see her! I want her to save me too! Did she use her quirk on you? Ohh. She's so cute! She's soo cute! Izukun! I wish I had gotten to see her cry."

"We took a couple of pictures together like this," Izuku said, flipping through them. Dabi made an interested noise so he turned his phone around and showed them to him. He got a grin in reply and a thumbs up.

"And here's that guy I went in for," Izuku said, flipping to a picture of Hitoshi. "Look at him, isn't he just amazing?" He beamed, sharing the picture with Himiko.

"Not as cute as Ura-chan, but then _no one_ is." Himiko admitted, "I like his hair though."

Showing Dabi, he got the comment of, "That boy looks like he could sleep for forty years." Dabi laughed before sipping his own drink. "And it wouldn't even touch the exhaustion he has."

"He's got weird dreams and insomnia," Izuku said, looking back at Hitoshi's picture and smiling. "He likes cats and fruit flavored drinks, specifically melon or peach. He's perfected this posture in class that let's him look like he's paying attention when he's really looking at his phone for his blog. He has a blog!" Izuku brightened up even more, "He says he'll show it to me later but isn't that neat?"

"Izukun made a friend!" Himiko cried, "Congratulations on your very first friend!" She held up her drink.

"Thanks!" Izuku clinked his glass against hers and then Dabi's, held up by the older man. "You should have seen me at lunch time. I had half of my class trying to sit with me. Hitoshi was pretty nervous the whole time, but they were really excited about the magma quirk I showed off earlier. Even Ochako wanted to know more about it."

Himiko gasped, "You call her Ochako? Izukun, I want to go to school too! Let me go and meet her please, please!"

Izuku shook his head, "You can meet her later, Himichan. You'd never pass for a hero in Yuuei. Besides, you're way too mature for a first year class and the third year classes are all full."

This caused the girl to pout into her drink. "You're certain I get to meet her? Promise?"

"I promise," Izuku said. "Her and all the other girls in the third year classes. Ochako isn't the only cute one they have."

"That's right," Himiko said, stirring her straw through whipped cream, "There's Creatie and Earphone Jack and Alien Queen!"

"Alien Queen is hot," Dabi added, "I can't wait to see her in action as an adult Heroine. She'll be fun to compete against."

"Her acid is no joke," Izuku said, "They used it to get rid of the rock and cement formation I made with my volcano quirk this morning. Pretty impressive shit, I think."

"You have to tell us more about your school day, Izukun!" Himiko declared. "You must! Tell me all about the girls in your class and about this boy you like and Uravity!"

Izuku rolled his eyes again. "Okay, okay, so first there's this girl Tokage Setsuna, right? Lizard Lady is her hero name and…" He went on to explain the different ways his classmates had reacted to him and his budding friendship with Hitoshi. There was Setsuna, determined to be his best friend- despite Hitoshi already having that spot and the fact that she was basing it off a movie he hadn't even seen. There were wary students like Honenuki and Shiozaki who kept their distance but weren't rude when he greeted them. Ones like Kendou and Awase were friendly enough, though he had a feeling they were more worried about Hitoshi being his friend than any sort of villainous history he himself might have had. Shishida had been more curious towards the end of the day. Kaibara had kept asking if Izuku was _sure_ he wanted to sit beside Hitoshi (especially since Hitoshi started talking again).

Himiko ate up all the gossip as well as the descriptions. She cheerfully asked who was rivals with whom, who the friends were, who Izuku thought was dating and all sorts of things about them from hairstyles to quirks to favorites.

Dabi sat, listening mostly in silence. He kept an eye out over the bar, unable to give up a watchdog position even if they were supposed to be relaxing.

As Izuku wound down from school, he remembered that, with his new phone from his mother, he needed to get their phone numbers too. Dabi gave him a smirk at this, "Won't you get in trouble if you have villain numbers in your contacts?"

"Daichi will make sure no one can get through to my contacts," Izuku said with a wave of his hand, "Plus, I'm going to put you down with nicknames, like the rest of my listed numbers. Dabi, you get to be Wolfhound. Himichan is going to be Princess."

Himiko, delighted, put her phone number into Izuku's phone without a second thought. Dabi laughed, "Wolfhound?"

"I thought guard dog was too offensive," Izuku said. "And you follow in the footsteps of the Wolf."

Dabi's brows rose. "You've already got his contact information? Bah, I shouldn't be surprised. He'd be here himself if he wasn't out testing out a lesser boundary." He too put his number in. As he slid the phone back across the table, he said, "In fact, he sent me with a gift for you."

Reaching into his pocket, Dabi pulled out a small cloth bag. Tossing that over, he sat back again. "A congratulations present, I guess. He just wanted me to deliver it when I saw you next. I don't know how he knew I'd see you before him."

Izuku shrugged. There had always been an odd connection between the two of them, since the very first time they met a few years ago. He had learned not to question it. Opening the bag, he poured the contents out on the table. Seven dice rolled out from the velvet pouch, rolling across the wood surface before coming to a stop against Izuku's guarding hand. He didn't want to lose any to the floor, after all. He picked up the twenty sided die and turned it around in his fingers. "Is this… Is this made out of bone?"

Himiko snatched up one of them and sniffed it. She turned it around in her fingers and then nodded, "I think it is. Wow, are these hand made?"

"Of course they are," Izuku said with a laugh. "You can't half ass a gift like this. Dabi, let him know I'm grateful for these. I'll definitely treasure them."

Himiko rolled the ten sided die towards Izuku with a little frown, "You shouldn't lead him on like that, Izuku."

"What? I really will treasure them. It's got to be a lot of work to make these individual die. Not to mention they're really the perfect gift. I'm pretty sure I'll be carrying them around with me all the time. They'll definitely be useful for my work." Izuku gently put them back into the bag and tied it shut.

"He'll be happy to hear that," Dabi said, smiling, "He gets back in a few days. Are you planning to visit with him, boss?"

Izuku shrugged. "I might, if I have time, but … _school._ I don't know how often I'll be able to come around here, actually. This might be my last day for a while."

"Uwah! No way!" Himiko said, "Izukun I'll be so lonely without you! Dabi isn't nearly as good company and no one else is as fun or as cute as you are!"

"It's only for a little while," Izuku said. "Think of it as a minor adjustment period. Once I've figured out my schedule with school and have acquired a few more tools, then I'll have free time to spend with you again. Keeping apart is the safest option for now."

Himiko pouted but nodded her head. "All right. If you say so… But you better not forget about me when you get to hang out with all those other girls!"

"I could never forget you, Himichan," Izuku said seriously, "None of this would be possible if I didn't have support like yours."

Himiko preened under his praise, giggling as she sipped her drink again. Dabi met Izuku's gaze and gave a small smile. Izuku smiled back. Himiko might not be a key player, but she and Dabi had their places in the game. So long as they complied with the rules, Izuku could count on them for support.

Of course, support always went two ways.

* * *

At the end of his visit, Dabi walks with Izuku to the door of the bar, his hands in his pockets. The flow of patrons has been steady over the last hour as clusters of people come in to get a drink before their evening work. In the darkness outside the bar itself, Izuku steps closer to Dabi, to speak privately. They're alone, more or less, but Izuku likes to be careful. He lifts his chin, making eye contact with Dabi and initiates his Direct Contact quirk.

Dabi's eyes widen slightly and he shifts from his relaxed position to one ready for action, responding to the tell-tale sensation that Izuku's privacy quirk gives the recipient. "Yes?"

"I need to spur the father-son duo into spitting fire at each other," Izuku murmured, "Metaphorically speaking of course. Can you take care of that for me?"

"I'd be happy to," Dabi smirked. "Any particular way you want it done, boss?"

Izuku smiled broadly, "Surprise me."

Dabi lit up, responding to that smile as quickly as Himiko would have. "It'll be my pleasure. Me and the crew will get right on it. There's nothin' like a little stress at work to make a tense home life even worse."

"I'm glad I can count on you," Izuku said before dismissing his quirk and looking away. "I'll be heading out then." He took a few steps away before pausing and turning back. Dabi arched a brow at him, standing and waiting there. Izuku came back, grinning, and hugged him tight around the middle.

With his ear to Dabi's chest, Izuku could hear the man's heartbeat increase. Dabi pat his shoulder with on hand for a moment before he hugged back. When Izuku drew back, he said, "Take care of the Wolf for me while I'm out."

"Of course, Boss," Dabi muttered. The part of his face that was still his original skin color was flushed. "That's why I'm your wolfhound, ain't it?"

Izuku nodded. He slipped out of Dabi's arms and tossed a casual wave over his shoulder. "Be good to the princess," he called, "And don't get into any trouble you can't get out of!"

"You worry too much," Dabi grouched back, but he was smiling. Izuku could hear it in his voice.

In the darkness of the hall, he shape shifted from human to cat once more and headed up for the stairs to the street. If a cat could whistle, he would have been. As it was, he exuded a smug pride all the way back home.

Piece by piece, everything was falling into place.

* * *

 _ **Direct Contact:**_  
When making direct eye contact with another person, activate this quirk to prohibit anyone else from overhearing what you have to say. You can whisper or shout and no one but your recipient will hear your words. (Audio listening devices pick up static. This quirk cannot work with a camera lens or tinted glass, but can work through clear glass.)

* * *

 **TBC**


	6. diamond

**Chapter Summary:** Scars revealed. Pictures taken. The thrill of anticipation.

 _Villain!Izuku, Canon-Divergent.  
_ _(Warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation and brainwashing.)  
_ _This was co-written by kattenprinsen and is cross-posted onto archive of our own.  
_

 _Rama: so when I actually name a quirk in this fic I'll be making a note of it at the bottom of the chapter. Named quirks are the ones with full capital letters instead of just being referenced in their action: IE: a retention quirk vs Direct Contact quirk._

* * *

 **Chapter Six: cut like a diamond, chiseled like a greek god**

* * *

The locker room is abuzz with conversation on Monday morning. Izuku smiles idly to himself as he changes into his track suit. The other boys are talking about games and movies, training workouts and homework. It's the idle chatter of a familiar group. There's laughter and the sound of hands thumping against shoulders.

Izuku feel's eyes on his back as he shrugs out of his shirt. He turns, looking over his shoulder and catches Kaibara's eye. The other boy is staring at his back, eyes widened, and his mouth slightly open. Next to him, Tsuburaba elbows him, saying, "Hey man, don't just stop mid-sentence like that. What's up?"

Kaibara's eyes jerk away from Izuku and he flushes. "Uh-"

Tsuburaba looks over. "Dude, Sen, what are you staring-" His jaw drops. "Holy shit."

Izuku rolls his eyes and finishes taking off his shirt. He folds it up to put in his locker and catches the eye of Shishida next to him. The beastly student shoved his glasses up, abruptly cleared his throat and turned his head away. On Izuku's other side, Shouda flushes and whips his head back around to stare at his open locker.

"Oi, Midoriya," Kaibara calls. Izuku pauses in undoing his belt to give his attention to the other boy.

"Yeah?"

"Not to be, like, ridiculously rude or anything but did they lock you up with exercise equipment or is it a quirk that's got you looking like that?" He gestured his hand up and down.

Slowly, Izuku turned around to face him, thumbs tucked behind his belt as he considers Kaibara and his definitely insensitive question. He was kind of used to those from him, though, as Kaibara's curiosity seemed to trump the social customs of keeping your nose out of another's bullshit. Honestly, Izuku liked that about him. "Bit of both," he said. He noticed that now he was talking to Kaibara, the others were staring again.

It was a bit ridiculous, since he wasn't the only one well muscled in the room. Tetsutetsu had a good set of abs and Shishida had arms and legs to die for. Maybe he had a little less fat and therefore looked a little more cut than the others, but really, it shouldn't have been _that_ shocking to them. "I have a minor strength enhancement quirk that requires a high baseline strength to activate without damaging myself," Izuku explained, "And so I was trained to be extremely physically fit in order to maintain the use of that quirk along with others."

"Just how many quirks do you have?" Kaibara asked, not for the first time.

Izuku shrugged. To be completely honest, even he wasn't quite sure. Half the time, if he needed to do something it turned out that he had the quirk to accomplish it, whether or not he remembered Father giving it to him. "Enough, I guess."

Kaibara's questions seem to have broken the ice enough for more because next, Shishida clears his throat and asks with a gesture towards Izuku's shoulders, "Did they give you… that? From the villains, I mean."

Following the line of his hand, Izuku looks to his bare shoulder. The scar that stretches across his skin is a raised splatter of pink, damaged tissue. He's seen it so often that he had completely forgotten about it as he changed. Looking at it now, he can easily picture the second scar that is on his back, near his right shoulder blade. The one there is almost exactly like the one on his shoulder, pulled and puckered flesh that's an oddly dark pink color that contrasts against his regular skin.

He shakes his head in answer to Shishida. "No. I had this before they took me. One of the first quirks I was given was a regenerative one so the experiments done on me wouldn't kill me unnecessarily."

"Really? Then when did you get it?" Tsuburaba asks, eyes widening, "It looks awful… Kind of like Todoroki's burn." He gestured to the left side of his face to indicate which burn he meant.

"It's from an explosion when I was ten," Izuku said. He gave a bitter smile. There were few memories he had kept from before his capture that were good ones. Most of them were like the one associated with the burn, thoughts laced with broken glass or bitter poison, ready to hurt him at the slightest remembrance. "I mean, Bakugou's quirk developed when he was little, just like they're supposed to. He's always been quick to use it, especially against people who annoy him. And I always annoyed him. He even had this shitty nickname for me, on top of calling me quirkless and a fuckface loser."

The heavy silence that follows that is broken by an unexpected voice asking the question that Izuku was sure they were all thinking.

"Bakugou did that to you? Twice?" Hitoshi asks, frowning. His hand is holding onto his jacket tightly. He, like the rest of them, is half dressed during this conversation. "And he got away with it?"

"I was a forgiving kid," Izuku said with a shrug, "I admired him. I wanted to be his friend. I knew he was mean but he wanted to be a hero so I looked up to him." He laughs, shaking his head, "Maybe I was dropped on my head as a baby. But I forgave him even when the burns hadn't finished healing."

He turns away first, removing his belt and shucking his pants so he can change into his gym outfit. Conversation has dropped off almost entirely after that and the room is filled primarily with the sounds of clothing shuffling and lockers opening and shutting. Tetsutetsu is the first one done, stomping past Izuku to the doorway. He stops just at the door and turns around to face the room. Izuku catches the motion and turns his head to pay attention automatically.

"I don't know about the rest of you guys," Tetsutetsu says, the words snarled out between his sharp teeth, "But I've always thought Bakugou was a piece of shit. If your story is true, Midoriya, that only confirms what I believed. That fucker's no hero. He's just a sack of trash who thinks he's better than everyone else." He jerked his thumb to his chest and said, "I don't care what I have to do to keep him from the top Hero spot, but by god I'm going to fucking do it. He doesn't deserve that position if he's willing to injure innocents on his way to the top."

He looks around the room and grins. Izuku glances around and sees similar determined expressions on the others. "The sport festival is going to be here faster than we know it," Tetsutetsu continued, "I suggest we train as hard as we can until then and then we, as a group, as a fucking class, take Bakugou down. No way does he get to win first place three years running. You guys with me or what?"

Immediately there's a chorus of agreement. Fists are pumped into the air as the other boys whoop. Shishida growls out his assent and Kaibara jumps up onto the bench, both fists in the air, "We're gonna take you down Bakugou!"

Izuku laughed, more surprised than anything.

Hitoshi walks up to him then, dressed as well and on his way out of the room. He gave Izuku a thumbs up and said in a deadpan tone, "Congratulations on your adoption, Izuku."

Izuku grinned. He returned the thumbs up and then pat Hitoshi on the shoulder. "It's only finalized when they adopt you too, Hitokun."

Hitoshi flushed, turning his head away to hide it. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, brushing Izuku's hand off. "Hurry up and get dressed. I'll see you out on the field." He hurried away.

Across the room, Kaibara jumped down from the bench and gave Izuku a thumbs up as well, "Yeah, Midoriya. You better not go out half dressed like that. You'll give all the girls nosebleeds with an indecent chest like that."

"Is there something wrong with my chest?" Izuku called as Kaibara headed for the exit.

"Duh," came the reply, Kaibara turning to walk backwards through the door. "You're cut as a fucking diamond. One look at those abs and who knows how many panties will drop for you!"

"Ignore Kaibara," Shishida said from behind Izuku, "He's just being needlessly crude."

"What?" Izuku turned and asked, "Do you think my chest wouldn't be appealing to the girls?"

Shishida flushed, "W-well it's not exactly that I think it wouldn't be appealing- I just think that saying it in such a way is unnecessary."

Izuku blinked at him. Really, this was a bit too much fun. If high school could be more of this chatter and weird teasing, he would be having a lot more fun. "So I am appealing?"

Awase, passing by, adjusted his bandana and said idly, "Midoriya, your physique is something many people strive for years to attain. I don't know how much TV or internet you've gotten a hold of in the last little while, but if we were to film you dripping with water, coming out of a swimming pool or some shit, we could sell like, anything to women or gay dudes. Sex sells, Midoriya, and you're pretty up there when it comes to what a woman likes."

"I am?" Izuku blinked, honestly surprised at his forthrightness. "How do you know?"

"Itsuka's my best friend," he admitted easily, "When they were playing that Norwegian water bottle commercial with the guy taking off the full body scuba suit thing with close ups on his body, it was, like, the only thing she would talk about for a week. So you better cover up or you'll distract all the girls and we'll never get gym class finished."

Shishida nods enthusiastically in agreement to this. Izuku shrugs and finishes dressing. He's one of the last headed out the door, a smile on his lips and a spring to his step. The admiration is a nice thing, but Tetsutetsu's declaration was definitely the highlight for Izuku.

Bakugou would never know what hit him.

Izuku could hardly wait.

* * *

At lunch on Tuesday, Izuku and Hitoshi are outside in the courtyard. They sit together under a tree, the wide branches providing plenty of shade. Izuku's eating mostly in silence, listening as Hitoshi explains his current favorite mystery show. "...then they go into this room and give their account of the crime. It never shows like, the full story from each one of them, but little clips of it. We do get to hear who they accuse though, so we know who they think is the killer and we can guess based on what they know." Hitoshi said, gesturing with one hand.

He stops to take a drink and looks up at a voice calling out to them.

"Midoriya!"

Tokage is at the head of a cluster of girls from their class. They're practically marching across the field towards them. Awase and Kaibara are with them, looking sheepish.

Izuku glanced to Hitoshi, "Do you have any idea…?"

Hitoshi shrugged.

Tokage arrives, stands with her hands on her hips and said, "Sen said that you were ripped, Midoriya. He said that you have an eight pack. We want to see if it's true or just more of his bullshit."

Izuku blinked.

Blandly, Hitoshi said, "Wow. One day. You managed to keep a secret for one whole day."

Awase sighed, "Sen and Togaru kept talking about what kind of exercises would be needed to maintain Midoriya's level of fitness and they overheard."

"Don't blame me for this," Kaibara demanded, "I wasn't the one who call him chiseled like a greek god."

Awase didn't even blink. "I'm not going to lie to Itsuka."

"I. Don't. Care!" Tokage stomped her foot. "It doesn't matter who told whom. I just want to know if it's true! Midoriya, take off your shirt!"

There was surprised silence for a moment before Kendou laughed nervously, "Setsuna, that's so inappropriate. You can't demand Midoriya to strip during school."

Tokage grinned. "So after school would be fine?"

Izuku cleared his throat. "I'd rather not waste time after school like that." He set aside his bento and got up to his feet. "It will only take a moment, right? And then Hitoshi and I can get back to our lunch?"

"Yeah, sure," Tokage grinned with all her teeth bared. The other girls giggled behind their hands, watching curiously.

"Hitoshi, you don't mind if I do this, right? I don't want to ruin our conversation," Izuku asked his friend.

Hitoshi got to his feet too, "If you want to take your shirt off, go right ahead. Can I take a picture for my blog? My followers have been asking to see a picture of you all week."

"Sure," Izuku said. He loosened his tie with one hand, giving Hitoshi a bright smile, "I don't mind if you take my picture, Hitokun." He was rewarded with a slight pink flush across Hitoshi's cheeks. Looking to the girls, he said, "Tokage, would you mind holding my clothes?"

"Absolutely not." She held out her hands immediately. He shrugged out of his jacket and handed it and the tie over. Her grin grew wider and wider as Izuku unbuttoned his shirt and peeled it off. A soft chorus of gasps rose up as he handed over his shirt.

"Izuku," Hitoshi said, "Pose for the camera?" He lifted up his phone.

Izuku blinked, "How? I've never really done that before."

"What?" Kaibara gaped, "Seriously? It's just like this, man," He came over and slung his arm around Izuku's neck even though he was shorter than him. Then he grinned at Hitoshi and held up a peace sign. "See? Like this!"

Izuku nodded. He put up a peace sign, putting his arm around Kaibara's back. "Bending over like this is kind of uncomfortable. Do you mind if I…?"

"Eh?" Kaibara said, "EH?!"

With his arm around Kaibara, Izuku held him against his side and straightened back up. He lifted Kaibara a few inches off the ground, completely supporting his weight with his arm. Then he flashed a peace sign to Hitoshi. "Ready!"

The was the audio of a shutter clicking and Hitoshi said, "You should do a flexing picture too, Izuku." His cheeks had turned a darker pink but his voice remained steady.

"Flexing?" Izuku repeated, "Oh. Okay!" He let go of Kaibara, who staggered back in stunned silence and was caught by one of the other students. Turning, Izuku lifted his arms, flexing his entire upper body. "I've seen this on TV," he explained gamely, moving from one pose to the other. "Is this what you want, Hitokun?"

"...yeah." Hitoshi said, his phone shuttering again and again. "Perfect."

Izuku smiled. "Tokage?"

She blinked slowly at him, like a lizard caught in the warmth of the sun. "Mm?"

"Can I have my clothes back?" Izuku held out his hand. Tokage looked at her arms and then at his hands and then offered back the clothing. "Thanks."

He dressed again while his classmates whispered amongst themselves.

"Who else knows about this? The boys? Is that it?"

"They can't keep this a secret- They're terrible at secrets- Everyone is going to find out."

"But if everyone finds out it'll be like that time Yui shrank out of her clothes at the school festival and all those other students came by the class to take-"

"SHUT UP. We don't talk about that anymore!"

A moment of tense silence passed. Izuku, tugging his tie into place, looked to Hitoshi. His friend was tapping away on his phone, a smile quirked up at the corner of his mouth. Curious. Izuku stepped closer, peeking over the edge oh his phone to look. Hitoshi was typing out a message to go along with the picture. Izuku's brows rose as he caught part of the words. _...have believed me when I told you. I don't blame you for second guessing me. Pics or it didn't happen, right? Well here are your pics!_

"Are you putting that online?" Izuku asked. Hitoshi jumped.

"Ah. Yes. Is that… Do you want me to not do that?"

Izuku scratched at the back of his neck. Anonymity was kind of important to him and his work, but on the other hand… "Is this a normal teenager thing? Do people post pictures of their friends online like this?"

"Er. Yes." Hitoshi said.

"Then okay." Izuku grinned. He could almost hear Himiko discovering those pictures. After all, she had texted him the day before that she had found Hitoshi's blog. Izuku wondered if Hitoshi had any idea how many villains he had in his followers because of Himiko. "I give you full permission to post my picture on your blog. But only you, because you're my best friend, Hitokun."

"What?" Hitoshi replied, "I'm your best friend?"

Izuku nodded. "You are. My very first best friend since I was, well, four I guess." He put his arm around Hitoshi's shoulder, smiling, aware that the girls had stopped whispering and were paying attention.

"What happened to your first best friend?" Hitoshi asked, lowering his phone. He shifted a little uneasily under Izuku's arm. He had acted similarly when they ate in the cafeteria together the week before. Izuku had adapted to the others staring at him, but Hitoshi was still nervous by it.

"He got a quirk and I didn't," Izuku said, "He stopped being my best friend and became my tormentor instead. You saw the scars he gave me."

Hitoshi's fingers tightened on his phone. Izuku noticed Kaibara straighten and glance to Awase out of the corner of his eye. Both boys frowned deeply. "I can't believe that bastard got into Yuuei," Awase muttered.

"Who?" Kendou asked, looking to her friend.

"Who else?" Kaibara sneered. "Bakugou Katsuki. He knew Midoriya when they were kids. He's the one who burned Midoriya's shoulder like that. Didn't you girls see the scar?"

"Oh, I thought it was…." Kendou's voice trailed off. Shifty glances were exchanged with each other. Izuku continued to smile.

"Do you guys mind if I go back to my lunch? I'm kind of starving?" Izuku laughed. He motioned them to shoo with one hand, "I can talk about that stuff later. Discussing Bakugou makes me lose my appetite."

Kendou opened her mouth but Awase elbowed her in the side. They exchanged glares but it was Tokage who sighed loudly and said, "Okay, _okay._ We'll go. But you have to eat lunch with us again sometime, Midoriya! You don't get to just eat lunch outside with Shinsou all the time!"

"But I like eating outside." Izuku remarked, "I didn't get to do that very much in the last few years and Hitokun is _excellent_ company." He hugged Hitoshi closer to his side, pretending to not notice the very obvious blushing that he was doing.

Tokage grinned at them both. The other girls giggled, looking from one to the other of them. "All right, Midoriya. You and Shinsou enjoy your private lunch out here in the yard!" She waggles her eyebrows in the most obvious way and Izuku flushes in response. The other students leave, Awase miming an apology behind the backs of the girls, and Izuku laughed.

"Everyone is really energetic at school," Izuku said, sitting back down with Hitoshi.

"It's exhausting," Hitoshi muttered, joining him. "I miss nap time."

"Yeah," Izuku said, "Me too."

* * *

On Wednesday, Izuku stood outside the teacher's office area after having been summoned there during a study period. He knocked and slid the door open, poking his head inside, "Excuse me but-"

Blood King looked up from the desk he was working at and gestured him over. Some of the other teachers were in the room, though only two or three. They glanced up to see Izuku cross the room and join his homeroom teacher. "Sensei? You called for me?"

"Ah, yes," The man smiled and turned his chair to face him. "There's a joint class exercise being conducted later this week that I wanted to talk to you about first."

Izuku nodded, hands tucked behind himself. He made sure he looked attentive and interested, smiling slightly at his teacher. He could feel All Might's gaze from across the room, though the man had been talking to another hero when he had entered. "What about it, sensei?"

"It's a common exercise that we do with our students, starting even in their first year." Blood King explained, leaning an elbow on his desk as he spoke. "Generally we accompany it with a study of the students individual abilities and their willingness to co-operate to achieve a goal. The activity is to go to a prepared map and divide the students into heroes and villains. Both sides compete against each other to succeed at their goal during a timed match.

"During the third year, events like this are integrated with other classes. In this case, not just the heroics based ones but one that covers some of the psychological behaviors of villains." His teacher looked incredibly serious as he spoke, his brows furrowed slightly. "It's important for future heroes to be able to understand and predict the mind of a villain, so they can better fight against them."

Izuku let the smile fade from his own expression, mirroring that intensity. He had hoped that he hadn't missed this exercise yet. The timing of his arrival to Yuuei had been dependent on EUSJ, but he hadn't been able to pinpoint the curriculum for events like this. This was one of the activities that Izuku had looked forward to. It was a prime opportunity, after all. "Are you wondering if I would be comfortable participating, sir?" he asked.

"Yes. You were so recently rescued that we want to be sure we don't add to your trauma in any way. If you can only participate in half of the exercise or need to sit it out entirely, we're prepared for that." Blood King nodded. "There will be a surveillance area that you can watch from, or you can remain in the classroom to study."

Izuku shook his head. "Sensei, I can do this. It's important that the others in my class have everyone there to help, right? And I want to be a hero! I want to be like the other students. I can do this."

"I don't want you to push yourself," the man said firmly, "You're in a whole new environment and it's easy to become overwhelmed."

"Please let me participate," Izuku asked, "I know Hitoshi will be playing and we're friends- I want to be there to help him with this. It's important!"

The man sighed. He tapped his jaw with his fingers, looking away thoughtfully. "We'll have you put in the later section, then. That way if you get overwhelmed by watching the other students, you still have time to pull out. You are a hard worker, Midoriya, and you're doing well in your classes considering what you've been through. If you think you can handle this, I feel confident trusting you to know your own limits."

Izuku brightened up. He clapped his hands together, bowing in gratitude. "Thank you! I'll show you I can handle this too, sensei!"

"All right. I believe you, Midoriya. For good measure, though, I'll make sure you're on a team with Shinsou. I think that he can help keep you grounded." Blood King turned to write a note on a pad of paper. Izuku glanced at it and saw that it was divided into four sections, each one of them filled with ten different names. _The team formations?_ He thought before lifting his gaze.

"Thank you again, sensei." Izuku smiled. "Is that all?"

"Yes. Go ahead and return to class."

Izuku bowed again and walked back to the door. He pressed his palm against the wall by the door, activating his Sensory Awareness quirk and immediately putting it into hibernation. Sliding open the door again, he left behind the teacher's offices with a broad smile stretching across his face.

Finally, he thought, putting his hand into his pocket. _I can start the instructions this week._

Rolling the twenty sided die around and around in his fingers, Izuku felt a thrill of excitement run down his spine. _Father's so foolish, thinking that his way is the better way. I'll show him. I'll show everyone the correct way to play the game._

* * *

 ** _Sensory Awareness:_**  
By placing one's bare palm to a surface, they can lay down a print that will absorb different types of sensory input to be gathered again at a later date. The information is stored there until one places their bare palm against the same spot, collecting it directly into their own mind. Left too long and the information can easily overwhelm a simple mind.

* * *

 **TBC**


	7. comparison

**Chapter Summary:** Shit goes down. Twice.

 _Villain!Izuku, Canon-Divergent._

 _(Warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation and brainwashing.)_

 _This was co-written by kattenprinsen and is cross-posted onto archive of our own.  
_

 _Rama: so when I actually name a quirk in this fic I'll be making a note of it at the bottom of the chapter. Named quirks are the ones with full capital letters instead of just being referenced in their action: IE: a retention quirk vs Direct Contact quirk._

 _ **The Hero Names are made up by Rama and the full list (and a brief explanation of them) is at the bottom of the chapter.**  
_

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: intentional versus accidental**

* * *

Hitoshi figures he's not the only one whose heart is beating crazy fast on Friday morning. Blood King has them getting kitted up in their hero costumes, and even though he says it's just an extended exercise, the whole class knows what's up. Izuku had spilled the surprise the moment he had returned from the teacher's office on Wednesday. Everyone's been buzzing about it, as it'll be the first class vs class event of the year. Not only that, but it's an irregular exercise, where they're apparently going to be getting different roles to play.

He finishes adjusting the last touches of his uniform, letting out an anxious breath as as he does so. Izuku said he didn't know who was on what team or what the specific dynamics were but… just knowing that they were up against 3-A was enough to make him nervous. Tightening his gloves, he turned away in time to see Kaibara standing with his hands on his hips in front of Izuku.

Izuku, to his credit, seems to take Kaibara's personality in stride. He's laughing at something the other student has said, brushing his hair back with one hand as he affixes a pair of tinted goggles over his eyes. Hitoshi leans over just enough to see the full outfit.

It's a body jumpsuit, a lot like the tracksuits they were for regular gym activities, except it's a deep forest green with white accents. The white rectangles are at the shoulders, hips and the sides of his chest along the ribs. He wears thick dark gloves that have a flash of metal on the backs and his boots are obviously steel toed. He looks… different, with his hair swept back and those goggles obscuring his eyes but when Izuku looks over at him, Hitoshi swears he can still see the bright green of his irises beneath the glass, clear as anything.

"Shit!" Kaibara exclaims, drawing Izuku's attention back. "You know what we totally forgot?"

"What?" Izuku asks, a quirk of a smile on his lips.

"Your hero name!"

There's a pause and then the other boys emphatically agree.

"Sheesh, I can't believe we forgot that!" said one.

"Not only us but sensei too! What the hell!"

Izuku laughed, cutting off the discussion with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it. I've got a suitable hero name already."

"Yeah," Hitoshi hears the boy next to him mutter under his breath to his friend, "Lava Girl."

Izuku carries on like he didn't hear that. "My hero name is Noumenon."

Hitoshi forms the odd word with his lips, frowning. It's foreign, definitely, and weird.

"What is that?" Kaibara asks, "Like the opposite of a phenomenon?"

Izuku shakes his head. "Nah. Not like that."

Kaibara gets an elbow to gut from Awase before he can ask more prying questions. "Don't ask the origin of the name, dude. You've got to stop your prying questions sometime and we're all going to be late if we don't hurry the fuck up out the door."

Kaibara grunts, shoves Awase and says, "Yeah, yeah _Dad."_

Hitoshi catches up with Izuku in the hallway leading out to the grounds where they'll be practicing that day. Izuku gives him a friendly smile that does too much to increase his heart rate than is really fair. He clears his throat and asks, quietly, "So where _does_ Noumenon come from?"

Izuku looks away from him, and with the goggles over his eyes, it's not easy to tell exactly where he's looking. "Don't tell anyone, but it's a bit of a pun off of what I was called when I was with the villain leader. I don't want to freak anyone out by using something close to what they called me."

"It doesn't bother you?" Hitoshi asks, "I mean, they experimented on you…"

"I know." Izuku shrugged, "but it really does help. I have to accept what happened to me if I want to move past it. Pretending it didn't happen won't do anything but hold me back."

Hitoshi nodded to that. It made sense to him, though he was still troubled by it. "Does Sensei know about your name?"

"Yeah, haha, he forgot about it until just before sending us off to change and I told him what it was then. He said it was acceptable, though I think he wanted to know where it came from too." Izuku said as they exited the building. Hitoshi blinks against the sudden light. Looking up, he sees 3-A is mostly there already, chattering excitedly and turning to see them as they exit. Uraraka immediately begins to wave to Izuku, who tosses back a wave and a friendly greeting.

Hitoshi bites the inside of his cheek and consoles himself on the fact that Izuku is in _his_ class so he gets to spend more time with him. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Hitoshi looks away, immediately realizing how needlessly jealous and possessive that thought was. Izuku could have friends if he wanted them. He could get to know pretty girls from the other class. He could-

He snapped out of his thoughts when Izuku gripped his elbow and brought him to a sharp stop. "Watch out," Izuku murmured, "You almost walked into Shishida."

"Ah. Sorry." Hitoshi flushed, stepping back. Izuku squeezed his arm and then, gently, let go of him.

The two classes form two groups automatically, leaving just a little space between them. Though there were a few friendships between the two classes, there was a definite undercurrent of contention between the two. Hitoshi had noticed it within a week of being moved into class B in the middle of his first year and it had only grown more pronounced as time passed. Part of it had been the natural competition between two similar classes, the rest of it had been because of the actions of a particular student.

It was easy to pick out Monoma from the midst of 3-A, standing with that smirk on his face in his garishly bright hero suit. He glinted in the sunlight, parts of his clothing polished and reflecting. The sport festival in the first year hadn't been good just for Hitoshi. Monoma had placed fourth overall, impressing the heroes at Yuuei enough to bump him up from class B to class A. He was looking over at Hitoshi, eyes narrowed and chin lifted. It wasn't often the two of them crossed paths but when they did Monoma seemed utterly determined to prove that he was better than all of class B, especially Hitoshi.

Hitoshi met his gaze and lifted his brows at him as if to ask, " _What do you want?"_ Monoma wrinkled his nose back and made a show of turning his head away, giving Hitoshi the cold shoulder.

Sighing, Hitoshi decided to ignore him too. That was easy enough since Izuku was looking curiously at him. "Was that Monoma?" he asked, leaning forward to look around Hitoshi.

"Yeah," Hitoshi muttered back. "It's best if you ignore him, really."

"It really is," Tokage chimed in from the other side of Izuku. "Even when he was in class with us the only way to really get him to shut up reliably was to ignore him until he got offended and decided that _he_ was going to ignore all of _us."_ She rolled her shoulders as she spoke, stretching her arms up over her head. "I swear trading him for Shinsou was the best thing about the sport fest in first year."

"I gotta agree," Yanagi said suddenly. Hitoshi jumped, having not noticed how close she stood behind him and Izuku. She spoke quietly and in her soft grey outfit, she seemed even more ghost-like than usual. "I mean, Shinsou-san was scary to have around at first, but you're much better company than Monoma."

Izuku nudged Hitoshi with his elbow, grinning at him. Hitoshi glanced away, his cheeks flushed. He knew that the class only was beginning to acclimate to him because Izuku served as a buffer between them. Without Izuku, it was likely he would have never left his position at the back of the group, silent and unwanted. He didn't know exactly what it was about Izuku that made people warm up to him but if he had to guess it was probably that smile he gave. The one where it felt like stepping out into sunlight for the first time in days.

The one that Hitoshi was pretty sure had some sort of emotional persuasion quirk attached to it. Not that he'd seen or felt Izuku use it much since the first few days he'd been around but still…

He rubbed at his arm where Izuku nudged him, trying not to feel as awkward as he did. Izuku's understanding of personal space meant that there was a scant few inches between him and the people he chose to be next to. Where most people put a foot or more between themselves and Hitoshi, Izuku stood close enough that he could bump shoulders with him without having to move his feet at all. Close enough that when Izuku whispered, "Now who's the one getting adopted?" Hitoshi was the only one to hear him even though they stood in the crowd of their whole class.

"Only because of you," he muttered back.

"Does that really bother you?" Izuku asked, still leaning in close.

"What are you two whispering about?" Tokage asked, poking her head around Izuku again. She grinned mischievously, "Is it about-" Tokage's voice was cut off by the dramatic and attention gathering shout of All Might, who stood in front of both classes, hands on his hips, beaming at them.

"Now that everyone is here and ready," All Might declared, "We are going to be able to begin the match!"

Blood King stood off to the side, holding a clipboard. "Usually, we decide your teams on a random basis to simulate the way it often plays out in the field. Today, however, we're going to emulate a specific kind of situation. This is a large scale fight where you will be divided into groups of ten. Two groups will participate at one time, with one group simulating the behavior of villains and the other group practicing as the heroes."

He looked at his clipboard, referencing his notes, something he often did in class. Lifting up a page, he said, "The villains will be spread out over the whole area, where there is a mixture of open space, roads and a few buildings. There are between three and ten hostages, represented by life sized dummies. The heroes will be sent in waves, first five and then another five after twelve minutes as reinforcements. The goal of the heroes is to rescue all the hostages and capture as many villains as possible. This exercise is timed, giving you thirty minutes to accomplish your goals." He lowered the page with a nod.

"Are there any questions?" Blood King asked. It was perfunctory, really, because no one ever had-

"Yes, Midoriya?" All Might's voice broke Hitoshi's train of thought and he turned to look at his friend with his hand up in the air. Izuku had a question? It was obvious what was going on. Heroes versus villains with hostages- a very clear cut situation.

"Are the hostages civilians or other heroes?" Izuku asked, lowering his hand.

There was a blink of surprise from the teachers. Blood King looked to All Might, who cleared his throat. He sounded almost cautious as he asked, "Civilian or heroes, it doesn't matter which one they are. As heroes, it's your responsibility to save them."

"Yes, but," Izuku continued, "as villains, it matters."

There was a strange pause after he said that. Hitoshi was suddenly very aware of people staring at Izuku, and in consequence, him right next to his friend. Even the kids in front of them had turned back to look at Izuku. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as Hitoshi saw how serious Izuku's expression was. Hitoshi licked his lips, shifting uncertainly, but he didn't step away from Izuku's side.

"Why does it matter?" Blood King asked.

"Because heroes and civilians aren't the same to villains. They would react differently depending on who they had captured." Izuku explained, "It would be important to villains to know the status of the hostages."

There was obvious uncertainty on Blood King's expression as he glanced again to All Might. All Might seemed to catch whatever his fellow teacher was attempting to express because he stepped forward, "I see! It seems Midoriya is already thinking ahead to the secondary purpose of this exercise. Understanding the way a villain thinks can help you predict their actions to a certain extent. Will they stay and fight? Will they try to run away? These are the kinds of things that are important to know when fighting a villain, either one or one or against groups." He gave Izuku a thumbs up, "In this case, we'll declare all but one of the hostages to be civilians and one of the hostages to be a hero that's been rendered unconscious!"

Immediately, Izuku's hand was in the air again. There was only a tiny hesitation before All Might called on him again. "Will you have the hero hostage identified, sir? I mean, if the villains are the ones who took them hostage, they were probably in their suit, right? So the villains would know which one they were."

"Ah. Yes. We'll have the hero hostage identified. Thank you for the insight into these details, Midoriya."

Izuku shrugged, "Sensei said we have to think like villains to understand them. I think I've got the most experience dealing with villains so it's only fair I share what I know with everyone."

"Of course," Blood King said, "Are there any other questions?" A pause, filled with silence. "Good. Now I'll start with the first team. When your name is called, please come forward and stand in the designated spot."

He read out the names quickly, using just last names and a letter to identify which team. Izuku was called before Hitoshi and was put on Team D. Hitoshi, when he was called after Sero from 3-A, was also put in Team D. It was a bit of a relief to be on Izuku's team, but also kind of worrying. They had Kaibara, Yanagi and Tokage on their team as well, the latter giving them a thumbs up and the former a grin. Yanagi smiled slightly, though she seemed troubled when she glanced to Izuku.

While the rest of the students were being separated out, Tokage asked, "What was that deal about the hostages, Midoriya?"

Izuku shrugged, "It's just something the villains talked about in front of me a couple of times. They had some rules that made it so they didn't treat civilians and heroes the same way for some reason."

"What rules?" Kaibara asked, just as nosy as Tokage.

"Umm, if I remember right they were, uh," Izuku scratched the back of his head, frowning thoughtfully, "One, escaping with your freedom is priority. Two, don't kill other villains who follow the code. Three, was don't kill heroes, but you can kill civilians." He counted the rules out on his fingers. "There seemed to be a lot of sub categories to everything but they didn't go into much detail about that around me. I think there's some sort of complicated point system involved with rule three, but I'm not sure."

"Don't kill heroes?" Tokage repeated, tilting her head to the side. Her braided hair fell over the shoulder of her slick green suit and she tossed it back out of her way absentmindedly. "Are you sure that was one of them?"

Izuku shrugged, "Honestly, sometimes I'm not exactly sure how conscious I was. Sometimes I was on a lot of sedatives to keep from screaming. I wasn't always very coherent."

Hitoshi winced. He'd gotten used to Izuku saying things bluntly like that about his whole kidnapping affair, but it was clear from the flinch and pull back of the students around them that they weren't. He sighed and nudged Izuku's shoulder, "You're freaking them out, Izuku."

"Eh? Oh. Sorry. My therapist says that I should be open about my trauma so that I don't dwell too much on it and let the associated emotions build up and cause me problems. I have to admit that these things happened to me and while I wish they didn't, I can't go back and change them into other things." He smiled, "Because these things seem normal to me, I forget that they are troubling for others."

"Oh," Tokage said, blinking, "Well, um, if it helps you recover then it's okay, I guess? I mean, it's just startling. People don't usually talk about being drugged up around villains or anything." She laughed nervously, glancing to Kaibara, who shrugged and added his two cents.

"Look, I hear this a lot, I mean Midoriya sits next to me in class too. Sometimes you get all muttery, dude. You say some weird shit when that happens."

"Now that I can't really help," Izuku laughed, "I've been doing that my whole life."

Their conversation was interrupted by their teachers, yet again. This time it was to tell them that Teams A and B were going to go first while Teams C and D would observe. Hitoshi walked with the others to the observation room. It was a little cramped with half of both classes plus the two teachers in among all the monitoring equipment, but Izuku found the two of them a spot in the back on a long bench.

Izuku sat cross legged on the bench, keeping both feet off the ground and his hands in his lap. He pushed his goggled up so he had a clear view of the TVs. A lot of the other students stood or sat nearby, some on the bench some on the floor, some against the wall. Hitoshi stayed with Izuku, mostly because Monoma was in the room and was trying to get his attention so he could show Hitoshi that he was ignoring him, but also because he was a bit worried.

When Izuku had found out Bakugou was on Team C, he had given this very brief, very sharp smile. Hitoshi thought he was the only one who had seen it and if so, well, he felt responsible for keeping an eye on his friend. He had already seen the two of them clash twice before and he was sure he didn't want to see that happen again. They only escalated what they said and did to each other each time they crossed paths.

If that meant brainwashing Bakugou to leave them alone in the middle of all of this, well, then that was what Hitoshi would have to do.

Izuku watched the far screens, frowning slightly. His fingers twitched, his hands opened and shut in his lap as he watched. His eyes were bright, flashing green as they flicked from one screen to the next. The first five minutes were relatively uneventful while Team B, comprised of 3-B students and also acting as the heroes, infiltrated the large area where Team A, comprised of 3-A and acting as the villains, had spread out. The first five stayed close together, moving methodically through the area.

When the reinforcements came, things became suddenly more serious. The cohesion in Team B fell apart abruptly over unheard discussion. Hitoshi and the other watching students could see, but not hear what was being said. Only the teachers had communication devices that connected to the two teams out in the field.

"What are they doing?" Izuku suddenly said, a frown on his lips, his brows furrowing together. He spoke low, more to himself than anyone else. Hitoshi looked at the screens too, to try and see what Izuku did. He saw fighting on some, sneaking on others, and other ones that had either no one on it or students patiently waiting. "They're going to fail if they do that."

As the exercise progressed, Izuku's muttering picked up until there were no pauses between his questions or his observations. He hunched over slightly, eyes focused, muttering constantly. Occasionally, he would wince, hissing between his teeth. Sitting around them, their classmates would glance back at Izuku, looking quizzical.

Yanagi, who sat on the floor with her knees up to her chest, peered up at Izuku but then asked Hitoshi, "Is he okay? He's been doing that for ten minutes."

"He's fine," Hitoshi replied. "He does this a lot in class when he's really focused on something." Izuku's fingers were digging into his leg, his knuckles turning white, so he reached over, carefully, and touched the back of his hand. Izuku blinked for the first time in probably a minute and his gaze cut to Hitoshi. It was hard to describe his eyes as anything other than glowing, especially in that dim room. "Hey," Hitoshi said, "Don't strain yourself, Izuku."

Izuku's blank expression melted into a smile. "Sorry. I got caught up in the moment. It's the first time I've seen the actual combat practices of the others." He turned his hand suddenly and took Hitoshi's hand in his own. "Thank you." He didn't let go of Hitoshi's hand when he looked back at the screens, but now he sat back, more obviously relaxed.

Hitoshi stared at their hands until he realized he was staring and had been for at least a whole minute. Then he looked up abruptly, ignoring the flush of his cheeks and the way Yanagi, sitting on the floor, giggled behind her hand. They sat together like that for the rest of the time. Whenever Izuku's grip turned too tight, Hitoshi would squeeze back briefly and Izuku would relax again.

Hitoshi jumps when he hears the buzzer ring out after the thirty minutes are up. The fighting onscreen comes to a grinding halt, and Hitoshi grimaces at the postures of his classmates. Even as the heroes, they hadn't been able to beat 3-A's kids. That put a damper even on the mood of the 3-B kids around Hitoshi.

He made the mistake of looking at Monoma, who stood tall, chin lifted and smugness radiating off of him. Gritting his teeth, he turned his head away sharply. Izuku squeezed his hand briefly to get his attention. "They could have done it," he said, soft but intent. His eyes were focused on Hitoshi now. Hitoshi had the strangest feeling that Izuku could see into him, not like he could read his mind or anything, but like he could read even the smallest shifts in his expression and know what they meant. "They could have if they had taken the time to discuss a plan. And they had that time. It was clear the villains weren't bringing the fight to them after the first five minutes. Even against powerhouses like Yaoyorozu and Todoroki it could have been done."

"Yeah?" Kaibara asked, from where he stood against the wall, "How? 3-B always loses to 3-A. They've just got stronger quirks than we do."

He spoke loud enough that some of the other students, even the 3-A ones, looked over.

Izuku gave a grim smile, "It's not the strength that matters. It's knowing who and what you're fighting and how to use your surroundings to your advantage."

"How the hell are people like Ibara supposed to beat people like Todoroki?" Kaibara asked, folding his arms tight against his chest. "You saw how he froze her vines. She was useless against him. Hell, everyone is. He's too powerful."

"He relies on his environment being stable," Izuku said, "And on being tangible. Shiozaki and Tsuburaba could have taken him together. If Shouda had been there with them, it would have been a quick finish. Todoroki had no back up and he was protecting three hostages, one of which was the hero." Kaibara snorted in disbelief and Izuku frowned. "It's true. They could have done it and then while Shiozaki got the hostages out, Tsuburaba and Shouda could have gone to back up Bondo with Yaoyorozu. With the two of them down, the biggest threat would have been Tokoyomi, but Tetsutetsu and Honenuki could have easily taken him if they hadn't separated. It makes sense that they did since they didn't know he was there, and they had found the bait of hostages left out, but-"

"You really think that anyone of 3-B could take down 3-A's students?" Monoma interjected. He had walked over while Izuku was speaking and stood with that haughty tilt of his head. "Even in groups they couldn't manage! 3-B is just inferior in every way."

"Copycat," Izuku breathed out the word, eyes flashing, voice so soft Hitoshi wasn't even sure Izuku knew he said it.

"Oh shove off, Monoma," said Tokage from her spot further down the bench. "You were one of class B too. You have no room to talk."

"I was, sure, but unlike the rest of you losers, I was elevated to where I belong based on my skills." Monoma pressed his hand to his chest.

"You were bumped up to make room for Hitoshi," Izuku said, leaning his shoulder against Hitoshi's. "If I remember correctly he came in third because he beat you in the tournament. There was no precedent for moving a general education student to the class A, so they just shoved you up out of the way so he could get where he belongs."

Monoma's eyebrow twitched. "Excuse me? How do you even know about that _mister I was locked in a cell for five years."_ His voice went nasally with his mocking, his expression twisting up in annoyance.

"Villains have television too," Izuku said, mild as anything, "and if you think they don't watch young heroes displaying their skills for literally anyone to see, you're an idiot. The sport festival isn't just a talent scouting arena for Pro Hero agencies." He glanced to Hitoshi, "It's how I knew who you were. I've seen the last two years of sport festivals. Everyone has. Civilians. Heroes. Villains. _Everyone."_

Hitoshi's heart beat hard in his chest, hard enough that he was sure everyone around him could hear it. He hadn't ever thought about- Hadn't realized that- But of _course_ if it was broadcasted on regular television- Recorded and put online- Sold as DVD specials-

Monoma looked a little green at the prospect, but managed to say with a sneer, "So what does that mean? You saw a little TV special about our quirks and that's enough for you to know what we can do?"

"Yes," Izuku said, smiling a tiny smile. "And you only know one or two of mine, at most."

Hitoshi shivered.

"All right, young heroes!" All Might said suddenly. Hitoshi jumped, nearly falling off the bench. Tokage actually did pop up to her feet, with a little shout. Around him other students turned, wide eyed and startled, to stare at All Might who looked at them with some confusion on their shock. "Well? Didn't you hear me? Let's get up and get ready! Pick up your comms and head out to the designated area! Team D is the next set of heroes and Team C are the villains this time!"

Izuku squeezed Hitoshi's hand one last time before he stood up. Monoma wasn't the only one who quickly backed away with him, but the 3-B kids around Izuku were the ones who held their ground. "Good luck, Copycat," Izuku said with a grin. He tugged his goggles back into place. "Have fun being the villain."

"It's _Phantom Thief._ You'll never get anywhere if you don't take this _seriously,_ Midoriya," Monoma said with a dismissive sniff, "If you don't you'll just be another Class B loser." He turned on his heel and stalked off. Izuku shrugged his shoulders.

"Fuck," Kaibara muttered, "That dude will never stop being an asshole, like, ever."

"I'd really like to win once, just to rub it in his face," Tokage said as well. She elbowed Hitoshi, "I never said it, but thank you for first year. You making him slap himself on camera in front of literally thousands was the highlight of my month."

He nervously smiled at her. It still turned his stomach to realize that _villains_ had been watching the sport festival, that they always did apparently. It seemed like a breach of security, somehow, but at the same time… All the adults had to know, right? Someone knew, right?

"No problem," he smiled, "I think I would happily do it again if I could."

"Make him punch himself next time," Kaibara said, giving a thumbs up of approval. "Like, really hard. Black eye hard."

"Guys we're supposed to be heroes," Yanagi said behind her hand, stifling her giggles as they got in line for their comms.

"Yeah? And Monoma's a villain today. We can totally wish harm on our villainous enemies, right?" He held out his hands, palms up, shrugging as he added, "Shouldn't we want our heroic allies to make our enemies punch themselves in the face?"

"That's a completely true," Tokage said. "Hey, can we manage that this time, you think? It's a small enough goal. It's probably a hell of a lot more likely than actually winning." She turned to address Izuku, who stood behind Hitoshi in line, several people behind Tokage herself. "You sound like you're good at planning this kind of thing out, Midoriya. Could you make that happen?"

He cocked his head to the side and then, smiling, said, "If you want me to, I can do my best. I'll need cooperation from everyone else, though. I can't do this alone."

Rin Hiryuu and Tsunotori Pony, who stood in front of Hitoshi in line, turned, looked at each other, then looked at Izuku.

"If you can manage it, I'll listen," Rin said.

"Me too," Pony agreed quietly.

At the end of the line, Shishida grinned and Kamakiri gave a thumbs up. Izuku looked to Hitoshi. "Do you want to make this happen, Hitokun?"

Izuku's smile made Hitoshi's heart pound and his cheeks burn. He turned around abruptly, but nodded his head in agreement. Blood King gave him a bemused look when he hurriedly grabbed his comm from the box and rushed out the door, but didn't say anything. Hitoshi really, really wished that his damn crush wasn't so _blatantly obvious_ to everyone around him. That only meant that Izuku was going to figure it out. If he hadn't already.

Which he probably _had,_ because he was too terribly observant like that. He had noticed when Hitoshi had come in too tired to tie his tie right for school the other day. He had also noticed whenever Hitoshi fell asleep in class, though no one else did, and made back up notes for him.

The thoughts of the sport festival were far from Hitoshi's mind as he joined the rest of his team in the waiting area. It dawned on him that his growing crush was disgustingly apparent to everyone, _everyone,_ including Izuku himself. Sooner or later, someone was going to say something about it too and that only meant one thing.

Hitoshi was going to have to confess his feelings to Izuku. Izuku, who had been locked up for five years, who probably thought they were really good friends, and definitely didn't need a confusing teenage romance on top of his kidnapping recovery and trauma therapy. Izuku who would probably feel awkward about it, who probably already did feel awkward about it or he would have said something about it. Because Izuku talked about everything else with Hitoshi. Everything _besides_ Hitoshi's disgustingly obvious crush.

Suddenly wanting to do nothing but sit down with his head between his knees until everything went back to normal and he stopped having this massive crush on the first person that had been this friendly to him in two years. Izuku just wanted to be _friends._ Why couldn't Hitoshi be satisfied with that?

Why did he want so much to be closer to Izuku than he already was?

What the hell was he going do now?

* * *

The plan had been a simple one.

In retrospect, that was probably where the problem had come up. It was _too_ simple. It was based on the wrong playbook. They were supposed to be heroes- there to save the day as noble protectors of the innocent. Villains were the ones to base whole schemes around achieving one possible but slightly inane goal.

But his classmates had wanted to make sure Monoma delivered a perfect blow to his own face and Izuku had been a bit too excited to have them under his command to think it through. He should have. He should have considered the fact that Monoma had picked him out to argue with earlier. He should have considered the fact that the other students were trained to be individuals on the field and no matter how much they said they were willing to listen to him, they would still hesitate to act.

It hadn't been too much for him to think through. He trained for years to be able to process even more information than that. His quirks were _built_ for this.

And yet…

Drawing Monoma out of hiding had been easy enough. That had fallen into place just as Izuku expected.

Yanagi's voice was a soft song as she used her quirk to possess the hostage ragdoll that had been left in Monoma's care. "He's alone," she reported back, her speaking voice melodic, "And pacing by the door. I'm ready to spook him out when you're in place, Washer."

"Copy that, Spirit," Hitoshi whispered back over the comms. A brief snicker from several comms let Izuku know that the others appreciated his pun. "I'm almost there. Thirty seconds."

Izuku had put himself, Tsunotori, Komori, Shishida and Kamikiri in the second wave- the reinforcements. They weren't allowed to speak or act with the first set until they were on the scene but they could listen. Had he been able to be there from the beginning, perhaps it would have ended differently, but the scenario had been laid out by their teachers and Izuku could only play within the rules of the game.

They waited eagerly, listening as the other five members of their team searched out Monoma through Yanagi's possession technique.

"I have an eye on the target," Kaibara said. The grin was audible in his voice. "His stupid suit is glinting right through the window." There was a pause, a slight whirring sound and then, "Lady Zilla, there's a handhold to your left- Yeah, right there."

Tokage grunted over the comm, "It's Lizard Lady, asshole. I'm not Godzilla over here."

"Hey heroes don't call other heroes asshole," Kaibara teased, "Looks like Lady Zilla is in place."

"Washer is too," Hitoshi said. "No more responses until clear."

Izuku held his breath.

Yanagi's humming grew louder, though it was wordless. The sound was haunting. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

Izuku grinned as he listened to it. They were six minutes into the fight. Only two more minutes and the second phase could start.

They could hear wood break and glass shatter over the comms- Tokage's, if Izuku's understanding of his location was correct. There was a distant shout, the sound of concrete crunching and sharp intake of breath. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," someone whispered, too softly to be sure who it was, though Izuku thought it sounded like Kaibara.

"Almost," Hitoshi murmured. "Krosis, time for the lure. Make sure he takes the bait."

There was a grunt of acknowledgement. Izuku bounced on the balls of his feet. A minute and a half was left.

Rin didn't speak when he fought. There were concentrated breaths, sharp grunts and the occasional, _"Keh,"_ of what was probably amusement (Izuku had to spend more time in Rin's company to be sure of that). Monoma, on the other hand, was practically monologuing as they fought. It was clear, just from the sound of it, that he thought Rin was weak in his attacks.

 _"Use Rin to draw Monoma's confidence out,"_ Izuku's command had been, _"Rin's good enough at single combat to make Monoma's over inflated ego so huge that he won't notice he's being led by the nose to an isolated location."_ He wanted to see it in person, but knowing that they were under Kaibara's eye, and that he was placed by one of the cameras, assured Izuku that he'd be able to see it later.

"Phantom!" Hitoshi's voice was frantic over the comms, an artificial desperation, "Phantom Thief, help!" It was incredible, the way that Hitoshi's voice gave nothing away when he was using his quirk.

 _"They may be acting as villains, but they're still heroes underneath,"_ Izuku had said when Hitoshi had looked uncertain on carrying out his part of the plan, _"And heroes are built to save. All they need is a willing victim."_

"Clear," Hitoshi said. Izuku and the others waiting whooped excitedly.

"Fuck yeah," Kaibara said over the comms with near-reverence. "Washer did it. He fucking did it. Copycat's been caught."

Thirty seconds.

"Washer," Tokage said with a happy sigh, "I'm not crushing on you or anything but I hope you'll accept a congratulatory kiss for this. I swear this is gonna be the highlight of my whole year."

"I- Uh-" Hitoshi stammered, _"What?"_

"Shut up, Zilla," Kaibara snapped, "C'mon, do the punch!"

"Krosis," Hitoshi said, his voice slightly strained, "Be ready to catch him as soon as he breaks out. The punch will definitely knock my control off of him."

"Copy," Rin murmured. Kaibara laughed.

"No one respond," Hitoshi said, "Make a fist with your right hand. Punch yourself in the face as hard as you can."

"Oh my god," Tokage whispered. "It's beautiful."

"INCOMING!" Kaibara shouted suddenly over the comms, making Izuku wince at the volume.

At that exact moment, a smoke flare rose into the air, signifying the end of eight minutes. Izuku took off from the waiting area, the other four on his team just behind him.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Kaibara continued, "Fucking Blasty and Riot are here!"

"Scatter," Izuku said over the comms. "Don't let them take you down."

"We'll lose Copycat too," Hitoshi replied.

"An acceptable loss. The most important thing are the hostages," Izuku said. "Keep to your pairs, focus on the hostages. Spirit, how many have you located?" He lengthened his stride, outpacing his companions by several feet. Kamakiri followed him while the other three peeled off.

"Six in total," she replied. "In groups of two and three and one."

"Dash, Spore and I are on our way to rendezvous with you, Spirit." Shishida said, picking up Komori with a sweep of one large arm. Izuku caught sight of them ducking between a building and a fence, the swish of Tsunotori's costume tail following the motion of her body as her long legs kept her pace easily with Shishida.

There was a loud explosion. Smoke rose as the ground shook slightly. "Oh my _god,"_ Tokage breathed out, "Blasty's using his arm bombs. He's taking this villain thing way too seriously." There was a pause and then, "Krosis, did you and Washer get out of there in time? Krosis?"

"I'm… I'm fine," Rin panted back. "I can't see Washer. There's too much smoke."

"Fuck," Kaibara whispered. "I don't have eyes on the spot anymore. And-" he yelped, cutting off his words.

"Careful," Tokage said, "Beams nearly got you there. C'mon. Let's bring him down together."

Izuku tucked Kaibara's and Tokage's conversation out of his mind as they engaged with 3-A students. His focus was Bakugou, who, by the sound of it, was setting off continual explosions. "Scyther," Izuku said, "Find Washer and pull him back."

"Riot's there too," Kamakiri replied, "Can you handle them both?"

Izuku grinned, though he knew no one could see it. "Blindfolded."

"Don't get too cocky, Noumenon," Hitoshi said suddenly. He was quiet, panting for breath. "Explosions and magma aren't exactly the same. You might be heat resistant but there's a hell of a lot of force in those arms."

"I'm a lot more than heat resistant," Izuku said. He took a corner quickly, reaching out with one hand to grab a lamp post to control his turn. His fingers dug into the metal, his weight and grip combining to crunch it. "Are you able to walk?"

"Yeah. Keep Scyther with you, I'll pull back to Krosis and we'll go after Jacks and Tentacles like in the plan." Hitoshi replied, "Blasty got bored with me pretty quick when he saw you weren't here. He's after your blood, Noumenon."

"Well, there are a lot worse things he could be after," Izuku replied. "Is Riot still there with him?"

"Can't see beyond the explosions, sorry," was the answer he got.

"It's fine. Just focus on the priority. We've gotten the punch-out so it's time to get down to business. That goes for everyone. Stick to your pairs, take down your opponent and save the hostages."

The chorus of "Got it!" was music to Izuku's ears. Literally, in Yanagi's case.

"Scyther, keep an eye out for Riot."

"Aye." Scyther said.

Walking out into the dust cloud, Izuku grinned and lifted up his hands. Standing in the center of the street, Izuku called, "Oi, Baka-gou!" His air displacement quirk flared around him. For a moment, he stood as the center of a vortex of wind and then the smoke and dust blew outwards, leaving him exposed and revealing where Bakugou stood at the other end of the street. Half of it had been turned to rubble and a nearby building listed heavily to the side because of the hole it had instead of a wall.

"The fuck did you call me you piece of shit?" Bakugou shouted back at him. "Do you _want_ to fucking die?"

Izuku rolled his shoulders, flexing out his back and arms. He couldn't see Riot anywhere. Kirishima was the kid's name, right? Izuku hoped to meet him. He had seemed like a companionable dude on TV. "Have all your explosions finally fucked up your hearing?" He taunted, "How fucking deaf are you that I've gotta repeat myself like I'm talking to an old man, Ba-Ka-Gou."

"I'll fucking kill you!" Bakugou snarled. He jumped, his fists of flame thrusting him through the air at Izuku.

"Two problems with that," Izuku said conversationally as he shifted the density of oxygen in front of him so that Bakugou's flames sputtered and his attack became a bare fisted punch. That wasn't the best part, though. The best was when Bakugou sucked in a breath of air and gagged on it as though he were suffocating.

"One," Izuku held up a finger, "It's against the rules for us to kill each other." He dodged back as Bakugou's first fist follow was followed by another one. He had to keep his hands up to maintain the density and so he didn't turn away, just hopped back as Bakugou advanced.

Every breath Bakugou took turned his face a little more flushed, his eyes a little more wide and wild. He stopped trying to hit Izuku and began to back up. Izuku followed him. Bakugou's red eyes were filled with hatred as he fought to escape the invisible oxygen-deprived bubble that Izuku kept up around him. His struggling only made him breathe harder, made him pull in lungfuls of nitrogen rich air.

Bakugou dropped to his knees, both hands reaching for his throat. Izuku stared down at him and said, "The second problem is that I've already died. Multiple times. Feels kind of awful, doesn't it?"

Izuku crouched down to be eye level with Bakugou. He reached up with one hand, tapping his comm to turn it off. Slowly, he tugged off his gloves, setting them aside so he could take Bakugou's face in his bare hands. His former friend grabbed his wrists but couldn't pull him away.

Gently, Izuku whispered, "Isn't it such a horrible feeling? Knowing you're within arm's reach of salvation but no one is there to turn back for you and take your hand, pulling you to freedom. Oh, Kacchan, if only you hadn't walked away that afternoon. Maybe Tsubasa would still be alive. Maybe I wouldn't have been experimented on. Maybe it wouldn't be this way at all."

He lifted Bakugou's face up, watching as involuntary tears filled those red eyes and fear edged into his desperate expression. "You know," Izuku murmured, "Most people pass out pretty quickly when you drop their oxygen intake as low as I did to you. This much nitrogen dilutes the oxygen in your blood quickly. It only takes a couple of breaths to knock a regular person out. But as usual, Kacchan, you are different from normal people. You really can do incredible things, but it's time for you to go to sleep. Just close your eyes, Kacchan. It'll be over in a little bit."

Izuku brushed Bakugou's tears from his cheek with his thumb. Bakugou's eyelids fluttered, his lashes brushing Izuku's fingertips. Then they closed and he went limp.

Immediately, Izuku dropped his air manipulation quirk. He tapped his comm with one hand as he reached for the strap to wrap around Bakugou to show he was captured. "This is Noumenon, back online. Blasty is down for the count, how are we doing, folks?"

"Scope and Lady Zilla here," Kaibara said, panting, "Beams and Ridley are down."

"I really am going to punch you, Scopes," Tokage growled, "How would you like it if I called you by the wrong name?"

"Argue on your own time," Izuku ordered automatically, "Everyone else?"

"We have rescued two hostages," came Yanagi's voice, "Dash has taken them to the secure zone."

"Riot ended up joining Jacks and Tentacles and the three of them have pinned Krosis and I down," Hitoshi reported. "We need backup. I've confirmed they have a single hostage, marked with a gold star on the chest that I've assumed to be the hero."

"Hank. Status?"

There was static as a reply.

"Hank?"

There was a roar that rent the air but didn't come over the comms. Komori's voice, however, did, "Hank got knocked through a wall and lost his comm," she said quickly, "He and Tailman are fighting now. Charge is all burnt out and down as well. My shrooms keep telling me someone else is here but I can't see them so I think that Invisible Girl is at my location."

Izuku ran through the list of 3-A students that should have been out there quickly. "Scyther, go assist Washer and Krosis. All we have left to find is Copycat and he's probably lurking, nursing his wounds. I can handle him."

Later, Izuku would regret those words. Regret thinking them. Regret speaking them. Regret ever even believing them. Kamakiri nodded to him and took off.

"So we're only missing three hostages, correct? Ah, no need to answer that," Izuku added, "There were two rescue, one with those other three and Spirit found six total. Every hero is engaged except for Copycat." Izuku turned slowly, observing the area around himself. "Question: Washer and Krosis, did you engage or were you engaged?"

"It was an ambush," Rin panted. "We were headed their way and they came to us."

Izuku's lips moved silently as his memory played back the arena's layout. He'd spent half an hour staring at it earlier on so he knew where every street, every building was laid out. Recognizing where he was from the color of the brick and the size of the building on his left, Izuku turned. "Keep them busy," he said, "Spirit, you know where the last three are? Was it a room above or underground?"

"Basement. There were three windows," She replied, "High on the wall and small. I could check to see if there is a guard with them again?" She sounded out of breath. Her melodic tone was gone.

"There are only two basements available," Izuku replied. "Save your breath and rest up. You did great work. I can check them myself."

"Okay," she said, her voice full of relief.

Izuku put the fighting in the back of his mind as he headed down the street. He felt a smirk pull at his lips as he heard Komoi shout that Invisible Girl was down, but he didn't join in the cheering. His heart was jumping in his chest, his feet hitting the pavement in time to the quick beat. He hadn't been out in the field in months, having been so busy with the preparation of this school year that he hadn't been able to do more than oversee the villains out to play.

He found the first basement easily. There were two entrances, one inside and one outside. Izuku didn't bother going in first. He found the cellar door, crouched down in front of it and gripped the lock. With a mouthful of magma-spit, Izuku burnt through the metal and tossed it aside. The door banged open and Izuku dropped down the darkened stairs. Faint light peered in through one of the small windows, and Izuku blinked, activating an infrared vision quirk. He saw only the spreading warmth of sunlight that pooled in behind him and that which came in through the windows.

Looking up, he saw two windows. "Wrong basement," he murmured, and then turned away, dismissing the infrared quirk. Izuku stopped the moment he looked up, eyes widening in surprise. Monoma stood at the top of the stairs, backlit by the sun, and grinning down at Izuku.

"You think you're so special because of all your secret quirks," Monoma said, lifting his hand dramatically, "Why don't we just see how many quirks you have?"

"Don't," Izuku said immediately, dread filling his gut. His legs were frozen at the look on Monoma's face. He looked villainous, a sadistic light to his eyes, a sharp slant to his smirk. "You can't handle them. Don't do it."

"You think you, a shitty, pity-case hero-wannabe can tell me, the _Phantom Thief_ what quirks I can and can't handle?" He pressed his other hand to his chest, grinning down at Izuku. "Don't get ahead of yourself, you fool, I can use any quirk in the whole world!" He laughed.

Again, much like Hitoshi's quirk, it was impossible to tell from the outside when it was being used. Hitoshi's voice had no telltale reverb. Monoma's had no distinctive sensation.

However, his appearance began to change dramatically. His eyes shifted green and glowing. His hair turned darker, began to curl away from his face. His pale skin darkened, growing closer to the tan of Izuku's on skin. His body began to change as well, growing taller bulging. Monoma's jaw dropped down, his teeth shifting along with the rest of him. His laughter came to a burbling stop, smoke rising from his throat. "What-" He choked out, eyes growing wide, "What ish thish-"

Izuku's limbs unfroze at the horror that burned across Monoma's face. At least half of it anyway. The left half of Monoma's face sagged while the right was pulled back in abject terror. "How-?" His cry was cut off as the left side of his body gave out supporting him.

Izuku leaped up the stairs, arms out. He caught Monoma before he hit the ground, cradling him in his arm. Blood dripped from Monoma's nose, his eyes, still burning green, stared up at Izuku. His jaw, distended, worked to form more words, but nothing coherent came out.

"Monoma," Izuku said, "Monoma, just hold on." He shifted the other boy in his arms to reach up and touch his comm. "Sensei, please, I need medical attention for Monoma right now."

"Midoriya, what happened?" Blood King's voice was shocked in his ear. "We just saw Monoma change and drop, what just happened?"

"He borrowed my quirks," Izuku replied, "He copied them."

"Fuck," someone else said, from outside the comm. Izuku looked up to see Kirishima, kitted up in his Red Riot outfit, stood a few feet away, eyes wide. "What's going on?"

Izuku looked down to where Monoma's features were some sort of hybrid between his own and Izuku's and then back up to Kirishima. His vision blurred with tears, "I told him not to," he choked out. "And now he's-"

There was a thump, a vibration through the ground, and suddenly All Might was crouched in front of him. "Midoriya, my boy," he spoke with surprising gentleness, "Let me take Monoma. We'll get him right to Recovery Girl."

Izuku immediately handed over Monoma. As he did, he saw that the boy's features were beginning to return to normal. His unseeing eyes were shifting back to their original shade, his hair turning blonde again. "I'm sorry," Izuku said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let him do it."

"Don't worry," All Might said, holding Monoma in one arm, "I will take care of young Monoma!" He leaped away, taking to the air as if he could fly. Izuku watched as his childhood hero took away the unconscious Monoma.

He knelt on the ground, feeling drained of energy. He felt someone shaking him and blinked, looking up to see Kirishima with his hand on his shoulder. His mouth was moving, but Izuku couldn't hear him speaking. The only sound that existed was the rushing of his blood in his ears.

That and his own voice, whispering, "It's against the rules. It's against the Code. You can't kill heroes. It's against the Code. I broke it- I can't- I can't- I broke the Code…"

* * *

Hitoshi stood with the other nine members of his team in the designated safe zone. They had six rescued hostages and seven capture pseudo-villains but none of them were celebrating. Izuku stood off by himself, shoulders hunched, head bowed. He had been silent since Kirishima had walked out of the battle zone with him. Kirishima, Shouji and Jirou were the only three of the villain team that had remained uncaptured by the time the battle had ended.

Tokage nudge Hitoshi with her elbow. "What are you doing?" she whispered, "Are you just going to stand there and let him freak out alone?"

"Go to him," Kamakiri said, stepping closer and lowering his voice, "He had a run-in with Bakugou too." He glanced to Izuku's back and added, "He suffocated Bakugou until he was unconscious and didn't freak out. But the thing with Monoma get's him like that?"

"He shouldn't be alone with this," Yanagi said, poking her head around Tokage, "Why aren't you going to him?"

Hitoshi flushed and nervously rubbed his hands over his arms. "Me going over there will just make it more awkward for him," he started, "I'm- I mean-"

Tokage pushed his shoulder this time, harder than before. "This is no time for your weirdness, Shinsou. Go over there and make sure Midoriya is okay. Stay with him! You're his friend." They stared at him, expectantly. Hitoshi rubbed his shoulder where she had punched him and then nodded.

He could feel people staring at him as he crossed over to where Izuku stood. Hitoshi glanced over his shoulder to see Tokage give him a hopeful thumbs up. Turning back, his eyes swept over Bakugou, who looked at him with narrowed eyes. Once he was at Izuku's side, he stopped.

"Izuku…"

The other boy tensed. He looked up from under his shaggy bangs, his goggles hanging around his neck. His eyes were red-rimmed with tears. Hitoshi hesitated, not knowing what to say. He reached out a hand, tentative. If Izuku was panicking, the last thing he needed was to be grabbed-

Izuku grabbed Hitoshi's hand in both of his, tightly. "I didn't mean to," he whispered intently, standing so close that Hitoshi could feel his body heat. "I didn't mean to kill him, I swear. I didn't."

Tears ran freely down Izuku's cheeks and he ducked his head. Hitoshi felt his face burn as Izuku rested his forehead on his shoulder. He hadn't seen Monoma before All Might toko him away and neither him nor Blood King had said anything. Not wanting to lie to Izuku, Hitoshi did the only thing he could.

He put free arm around Izuku's shoulders, drawing him close. If Izuku was comfortable leaning on him, needed to lean on him, then Hitoshi could stave off his embarrassment long enough to be there for his friend. "It's okay," he murmured, "You'll be okay."

Monoma might not be, but Hitoshi could at least believe that Izuku would be okay.

* * *

 _ **Notes:**_

3-B kids use nicknames for most of 3-A's kids during the fight (so they're intentionally NOT using 3-A's names but they are using their names) Also, like, none of them have listed names or even very detailed quirks so Rama just kind of made all that up. Here's a brief explanation of why these names were chosen:

 **Tokage: Lizard Lady:** she's only listed to have lizard like regen skills so i kind of tacked on some other lizard abilities for her too (wall climbing and claws anyone?) (Kaibara calls her Godzilla/Lady Zilla/ Zilla teasingly)

 **Kaibara: Scope:** his ability is called "swivel" and he likes cameras so im like "Guess who can do the whole "what do your elf eyes see" nonsense. this guy"

 **Tsunotori: Dash:** She's based off of MLP stuff. no, seriously, she is. So guess who gets the least obvious MLP nickname. bc she's got horns and horse legs. she got legs for days.

 **Rin: Krosis:** his quirk is 'scales', his trivia puts his name as dragon related, so guess who gets the Skyrim reference to his name? This guy. He's my fave dragon priest from Skyrim. aw yee

 **Kamakiri: Scyther:** ok. his quirk is like, blades. he looks like a pokemon. so. yeah. obvious.

 **Komori: Spore:** again, no listed ability, but a mushroom quirk so idk.

 **Shinsou: Washer:** ok this one might be short for something else but it's basically a reference to him having a brainwash quirk, that involves memory loss

 **Shishida: Hank:** idk how many of you know xmen, but guess what the name of the big fuzzy blue beastly mutant is! (hint, it's Hank)

 **Yanagi: Spirit:** Possibly short for "Ghost Spirit"- she possesses shit. what the hell else am i gonna use. also i paired her with Dash in part of this because I loved spirit, stallion of the cimarron.

 **Midoriya: Noumenon** Plot reasons. You'll find out later.

* * *

 **TBC**


	8. broblems

**Chapter Summary:** Hallway calls and conversations. Plan for a Good Time. Face off against Two Face.

 _Villain!Izuku, canon-divergent_

 _(warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation, brainwashing)_

 _This was co-written by kattenprinsen and cross-posted from archive of our own._

* * *

 **Chapter Eight: throw fire at all your broblems, bro**

* * *

"And then his head just went _schlooop_ in the back! It was bulging like a really weird growth or something."

"I saw his hair turn colors too! It just started to change like the rest of him!"

"Didn't you see how his jaw started to stick out? What kind of quirk deforms someone like that?"

"I mean, I don't like Bakugou either but he just choked him like it was nothing. I bet he wouldn't have stopped if not for the cameras…"

"C'mon he spent _five years_ with those villains… So what if he passed the entry test! But does anyone really know if he's safe to be around?"

Hitoshi's whole body felt alternatively hot and cold. The lunchroom was flooded with chatter about the morning fights, even though it had only been classes A and B involved. It seemed that the only thing that anyone could talk about was Izuku. Izuku and his multiple quirks. Izuku and how he choked Bakugo. Izuku and Monoma's collapse.

Izuku and the way he knew so much about villains.

His stomach churned at the rumors. His hands shook so badly that when he got his tray of food, the plates clattered on it. Automatically, he went to sit by himself, as Izuku was gone from the cafeteria room and he still wasn't used to joining his classmates on his own. Hitoshi hunched his shoulders against the whispers. Somehow, it was worse to hear about his friend being called a villain than it was to have people call _him_ one. After all, they only assumed that because of his quirk, whereas Izuku…

Well, Izuku was different. Strange. Traumatized from being with the villains. It was hard to see, because he seemed so damn cheerful all the time but…

"And that weird thing he said about the hostages at the beginning of the session?"

"Yeah! What was up with that?"

"I heard that he said civilian hostages don't matter! That villains just kill them off."

"What if he's really a villain?"

Hitoshi stood up abruptly. His chair screeching a it was shoved back from the table. It was the group directly behind him that had asked that question, and when he turned to look at them, Hitoshi noticed they weren't even from class A. The rumors had spread to other classes already, it seemed.

"Stop." He said. It wasn't the chair that got their attention, but him, speaking. The students fell silent, blinking at him. "Don't call him a villain. He isn't a fucking villain."

There was a moment where they looked at each other, quiet, but then one of them spoke, their eyes narrowed. "Well he's not a _hero,_ " she said, "not the way he hurt Monoma."

Hitoshi clenched his fists at his side. If only he'd seen what had happened- but they hadn't even shown the recording to the rest of his group. Only the other half had seen and they-

"He didn't hurt Monoma. Monoma hurt himself."

Hitoshi blinked and looked up only to see Kirishima standing a few feet away, holding his tray. He had an uncharacteristic frown on his face. The girl and her friends blinked owlishly at him so he just rolled his eyes and said, "Monoma used his copycat quirk on Midoriya _after_ Midoriya told him not to. Monoma didn't know what kind of quirks Midoriya has. Hell, I don't think Midoriya even knows what all of his quirks are, but he knew taking them was dangerous so he told Monoma not to do it."

Kirishima looked at Hitoshi then, his expression sad, "I know they took Monoma to the infirmary, but how is Midoriya? He looked like a wreck after it happened."

"I…" Hitoshi faltered, "Last I saw him, Blood King was taking him away to speak with. That was before we headed back in for lunch, though."

"Oh, okay. I hope he's all right…" Kirishima said. He rubbed the back of the neck, "He was…" He glanced to the other students and then lowered his voice, "Can I talk to you a second? Privately?"

After a stunned moment, Hitoshi nodded. He followed Kirishima towards the windows, where there was at least a little privacy. Turning to face Hitoshi, Kirishima said quietly, "I'm not sure how to bring this up but, after Monoma got hurt, Midoriya was holding him and whispering something… weird?"

"...Like what?"

"I… I didn't hear it very well but it sounded like he was whispering about a code? Like," Kirishima glanced to the side, brows furrowing, "he said that he broke the code by killing a hero? Do you… know what that meant?"

Hitoshi stared at him. Izuku's words- _"don't kill heroes but you can kill civilians"-_ flit across his mind. He was quiet long enough that Kirishima looked back at him instead of out the window.

"I know that Izuku was traumatized by the villains he was around," Hitoshi said, "And I know that we don't know the extent of that damage done to him. Monoma going down really rattled him. I suspect that he might have flashed back to something that happened to him during his time in captivity." Frankly, Hitoshi was only certain about some of the words he was saying. Was Izuku traumatized? Yes. Did Monoma's injury scare him? Yes. Did he have a flashback?

Probably not.

But Hitoshi's other theories were not for those like Kirishima, who nodded at him, still serious. "Our class has been told that Monoma is still alive, by the way. So if you could pass that on to Midoriya? In case no one told him?"

Hitoshi agreed.

Kirishima left him shortly afterwards. There was no reason to linger after saying his peace, though, oddly, he said that Hitoshi seemed to be a good friend to Izuku.

Hitoshi hadn't really replied, just watched him go, thinking about that. Izuku made friends quickly and easily, even without that charming smile quirk that he'd used, the class probably would have warmed right up to him. It was Hitoshi that hadn't had any friends before Izuku; Hitoshi was the one who benefitted the most from their relationship.

He returned back to his lunch, only to find that his table was no longer empty.

Kaibara grinned up at him, cheek bulging as he chewed a mouthful of food. Yudai said hello. Yanagi smiled. Even Hiryuu was there, quietly eating his lunch, only giving Hitoshi a cursory glance when he sat back down. Kaibara and Yudai carried the conversation for most of lunch, but that was fine. It was enough that they were there.

It was enough that when they finished, Yanagi said quietly, "Could you go to the infirmary and check on Midoriya? We're worried about him. The teacher's haven't told us anything but that Monoma was alive."

Hitoshi didn't have to be asked twice. He readily agreed, so long as they would cover for him if necessary. There was a free period for the next hour or so, as they digested their meals and prepared for the second wave of battles. He parted ways with his classmates at the stairs, heading to the infirmary with his hands in his pockets.

* * *

There was a bench in the hall outside the door to the infirmary. The hallway was lit well enough with fluorescent overhead lights. Hitoshi expected to have to go inside the room to find Izuku, but to his surprise, the boy sat on the bench, head lowered, shoulders hunched, clutching his phone in both hand. At Hitoshi's approach, he jerked his head up.

Hitoshi's footsteps faltered. For a second, he could have sworn Izuku's eyes _glowed_ bright green. But then the boy blinked and they looked normal, as though it had only been a trick of the light.

Izuku took in a deep breath and sat up, "Hitoshi?"

Hitoshi lifted a hand in greeting. He walked over and, after a moment of hesitation, sat down on the bench beside him. "Are you okay?"

Izuku closed his eyes. He leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees. His hands hung in the space between them, phone held loosely in his fingers. "I wasn't the one who nearly died."

"That's not your fault," Hitoshi said, "He used his quirk on you. Kirishima said you told him not to."

"I could have prevented him from doing it," Izuku muttered. "I could have… but I…" He shook his head. His long hair fell in his face, the dark curls obstructing most of his face.

Hitoshi sat there, staring at the opposite wall. There was a bulletin there, but only a few flyers were posted up. One was a reminder about school holidays and upcoming festivals. Hitoshi sighed. "But he's okay. So it's fine."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Somewhere nearby there was a clock that Hitoshi couldn't see, but he could hear the rhythmic _tick-tock-tick-tock_ sound of it. After a while, Izuku said, "He had a hemorrhagic stroke. His brain started bleeding. Any slower and he would have ended up permanently disabled."

Hitoshi turned to stare at Izuku. "A hemorrhagic _stroke?_ What _happened?"_

Izuku laughed softly. He rubbed at his face with one hand. Still not looking up, he said, "So when they had the hospital run a battery of tests on me, no one really looked that closely at my brain. Or maybe they did but they didn't see _this_. Apparently, it's… Weird. Yeah. Weird is how the doctor put it. Too developed in some places. A little oddly shaped. But it's all brain tissue, no tumor, no swelling, nothing malignant."

Since Izuku had his head down, Hitoshi could look at it closely. "Your head is still head shaped. There aren't any hidden lumps or anything under your hair?"

Izuku laughed again, a little brighter this time. He sat up, brushing hair out of his eyes. "Nope. No strange lumps. But it's still different. They think the reason is tied to one of my quirks, and when Monoma took it, well… His brain couldn't handle it."

Hitoshi sat in silence for a while, looking at Izuku. Izuku had turned slightly towards him, but his gaze moved past Hitoshi. His fingers tightened on his phone. "So… it started to bleed instead," Hitoshi said. "I guess that makes sense."

"They can't know for sure. They can only look at the aftermath but…" Izuku shook his head. Hitoshi bit his tongue to keep from asking _"but what?"_

Izuku was remarkable about talking and talking but never really saying anything about himself. Whenever he brought up his quirks was the most he ever said directly about himself. Most of the time, it was regurgitated information from weird places- like Villain rules or the best way to get literally any stain out of anything. So when he did, Hitoshi tried to keep quiet and _listen_ to him.

This time, that silence stretched out until the phone in Izuku's hand buzzed. He jumped up to his feet as Hitoshi jolted at the surprising sound. Izuku looked at the screen an expression of pure relief flooded his features. "Excuse me for a second, Hitoshi, I need to get this." He didn't wait for a response, though, just flipped open the phone and answered it as he crossed to the other side of the hallway.

Izuku chose to stand between two windows, leaning a shoulder against it. His body was turned away from Hitoshi, his head bowed slightly, the line of his shoulders and back tense. Hitoshi held his breath, trying to listen in, but he only heard bits of Izuku's words.

"... worried about what you would say…"

"I know that… appreciate what you think…"

"Accident. It was an accident. I even told him …"

"...shima saw but he…"

"Thank you. I know you're..."

"...mention this to- right. Yeah."

And then Izuku laughed, bright and happy. He cupped his hand over his mouth to muffle it, but the sound eased the worry Hitoshi felt. Izuku turned, putting his back to the wall, and said, "Yeah, just like that. Thank you again. I'm sorry to bother you with this. What as that? Oh. Yeah. I can do that." Izuku was smiling, it was a small one, but warm. "Goodbye. Thank you again."

He smiled at his phone a he pulled it away and closed it with a snap. Hitoshi waited for a while, watching Izuku. He'd seen plenty of expressions cross the green haired teen's face over their short acquaintance and budding friendship but this one was… different. Softer, somehow. Izuku looked younger, almost.

Then he glanced up and turned a blinding smile to Hitoshi. For a second, Hitoshi as convinced that that charm quirk had been turned on him. His heart raced, his cheek flushed, he looked to the side. But no, he didn't feel any overflowing of emotion. Everything that was inside of him was twisted and muddled and strung tight like the chords of a guitar.

"Sorry about that. I had sent out a message to my, ah, therapist." Izuku said, "What were we talking about before?"

"Monoma," Hitoshi said. "What else did the teachers say about him?" _Therapist?_ He thought, feeling a little coil of tension release in the back of his mind. _Good. He probably needs someone he can talk to that he can trust absolutely not to spill his secrets._

"They said that they were going to make sure he was stable and take him to a hospital for further checkup." Izuku slipped his phone into his pocket as he walked back over. He moved in a much more relaxed way, sitting easily beside Hitoshi. "But everything looks like he'll recover. Because All Might was there to get him out quickly, and because of… I have this other quirk that didn't let it get too bad. I don't know how many or which ones he really took, but it was only the brain one that messed him up."

"...So what now?"

Izuku sighed. "Now I have to go back to class… where everyone probably thinks I killed someone today."

"They know you didn't," Hitoshi said quickly. "Class A was told that he was alive. Kirishima said so at lunch. They know you didn't kill him. And they know it was his quirk that did this to him."

"Kirishima said that?" Izuku looked wide eyed with surprise. "Oh. Right. He did show up at the end there…"

Hitoshi nodded.

Izuku smiled. "I'll have to… thank him I guess."

Hitoshi fidgeted.

Izuku turned that smile to him. "What is it?"

A dozen questions crowded for attention on Hitoshi's tongue, but the words he spoke weren't a question at all. "Kirishima heard you say something about breaking a code."

Izuku's face does a strange thing. It holds perfectly still, as if the entire surface of it transformed into an incredibly accurate mask. He's still smiling; his lips are pulled back very slightly. He has that light to his expression that usually accompanies his smile; cheeks a little rounded, freckles standing out on the tops of them, and a lightness to his eyes.

 _That's the strangest part,_ Hitoshi thinks, _He froze the light in his eyes. Somehow._

And then Izuku blinks and asks in a strangely soft tone, "Did he? What did he say?"

Hitoshi finds himself repeating back the words. When Izuku asks for what _he_ said in reply, he gives those too. It's… odd. He doesn't feel compelled to answer the questions, but it still feels like he's giving them… too accurately. As if the memory were little bits of lint that Izuku rolled over with a bit of sticky tape to collect them up just as they were.

At the end of it, Izuku is looking forward again. The sunlight from the windows must be illuminating his eyes, because they're that faint green glowing and _really,_ Hitoshi, _could you be any more obvious? You keep staring at him like you're dumbstruck and he's going to fucking notice you like him._

Izuku, swinging his legs back and forth despite the fact that it made the soles of his shoes squeak on the tile, hummed and said quietly, "Okay. I think everything will be okay." He reached over and put his hand on Hitoshi's arm. "I'm glad you came to find me and check on me, Hitocchan. I've never really had a friend like you before."

Hitoshi felt his ears burn as he nodded back. The place where Izuku put his hand felt heavy and warm, as though there was much more weight or significance behind the gesture than a simple touch. He didn't speak because he couldn't but Izuku didn't seem to mind.

That hand slid down his arm to the top of his hand. Izuku squeezed, once, before letting go and getting to his feet. "It's still lunch time, right? Should we go back and get some before it's all gone?"

Hitoshi nodded and got to his feet. He put his hands in his pockets, ignoring the way the right one felt warmer than the other, and followed Izuku away.

* * *

Group A of Class A _crushed_ Group B of Class B when the roles were reversed in the afternoon match.

Izuku watched the match with a frown on his lips and his hands in his lap to keep from biting his thumb out of anxious habit. Before the matches had even begun, he'd worried about his classmates for one simple reason.

All Might and the other teachers had decided that Todoroki and Bakugou would switch places on the teams. It went unsaid, but Izuku figured they didn't want to see what kind of retribution the blond would attempt on Izuku- especially after the Monoma event.

Izuku could have convinced them otherwise, might have tried to even (it wasn't as though Bakugou could do anything to him after all) but they were switching him out with _Todoroki._

Beyond a few glances of acknowledgement between them, Izuku still hadn't been able to address the teen with two quirks. And with what he had Wolfhound and the others doing out in the world… He needed to make contact soon.

So he kept his mouth shut and his quirks to himself and instead witnessed the way Bakugou, given the free reign to use his quirk to his fullest, decimated any hope for the Class B students. It was, in simplest terms, a slaughter.

Bakugou's fury was visible to _everyone._ It crashed and crackled in the air around him, burning with incredible intensity. He was utterly ruthless and his actions gained him more than one instruction to tone it down from the supervising teachers. And though he barely co-operated at all with his team, they were successful in saving the civilians and rounding up the villainous acting Team B.

* * *

While Teams C and D left the observation room, in thoughtful, somewhat cowed silence, Teams A and B were brought off the field. Several students had minor injuries, mostly from Team B and mostly due to Bakugou. Izuku stood off to the side, watching his classmates go into the observation room- those who were not being taken to the infirmary- and kept quiet at Hitoshi's side.

Awase caught sight of him and split off from the others suddenly. He trotted over to Izuku, his expression serious. "Bakugou broke Itsuka's arm," he said instead of a greeting. His dark eyes were hard as steel as he stared at Izuku. "They're going to let him get away with it because it was a training exercise and because she can get it healed up pretty quickly, but he did it on purpose, Midoriya."

Izuku blinked at him and cocked his head to the side. "You've all spent much more time around Bakugou than I have. Surely you know how dangerous he can be."

 _"You're_ the one who wounded his pride by choking him out the time before. It should have been you who he got revenge against," Awase said, frowning even more. "We're behind you in giving him what he deserves, but-"

"An eye for an eye- An arm for an arm?" Izuku suggested with a small smile. He tucked his hands behind himself and looked thoughtfully up to the sky. "I can't break Bakugou's arm for you- I'm not fighting him because of the switch- but I can promise something else."

"Yeah?" Awase asked, glancing over his shoulder. Most of the others had filed away now. Hitoshi and the other eight on Izuku's team were watching and listening to their conversation.

"Team A crushed you," Izuku said matter-of-factly. "I can make sure Team D crushes Team C. Even out the score that way."

"We shouldn't purposefully hurt anyone," Yanagi said quietly. "Even if we are pretending to be villains."

"All right," Izuku nodded to her. "We'll go for shock and awe. And humiliation." He looked back to Awase. "Is that enough for now?"

Awase shrugged. "We're going to have to work on a strategy for Bakugou later. For the Sport Festival."

"I look forward to that," Izuku said honestly. "Tell Kendou that I hope she heals quickly and well. I apologize for antagonizing Bakugou, but nullifying him as quickly as possible is always the best option."

"Yeah. Ain't that the fucking truth," Awase said as he stepped away. He gave them a nod in goodbye and, sticking his hands in his pockets, walked away to join the others. The attention he was getting from the others of Team D refocused on Izuku.

Tokage gave him a toothy grin. "So, Midoriya. It seems you're the boss again… What have you got in mind for your new villain team?"

Izuku turned his gaze back up to the sky and said, thoughtfully, "A villain's primary goal, beyond survival, is to have a good time, right?" He got a few mumbles of assent. "So… let's have fun with it… Here's what I have in mind…"

* * *

"Shouto?" The voice in his ear was a breathless Ashido. "Have you seen _any_ of them? We've covered the entire eastern border and there's _nothing."_

Shouto didn't roll his eyes but the temptation was very real. He was using them to keep a careful eye on his surroundings. He was the only one on their team without a pair. "It's been three minutes, Pinky. Look _inside_ some of the building."

"Dude," Jirou said over the comms next, "I've been checking each floor and I'm not hearing a peep. They're either in another area or dead. I should be hearing heartbeats or breathing or talking or _something."_

"Northern border is clear too." Came Ojiro's voice. There was a waver to it, like he was anxious as well. "Tentacle, have you caught _anything?"_

"There is something in the center of the area that is giving off light." Shouji said. "I'm going to higher ground to locate it."

"I'm on the ground headed that way. Invisible girl is with me," Kirishima said. His breath came over the sound of the comm, the steady puff that alerted the rest of them that he was running. Shouto listened in silence, still walking down the street, searching the buildings around him for any sign of movement. After a minute or so, Kirishima spoke again. "Holy _fuck."_

"Oh my _god,"_ Hagakure said only a second later. "How did they make _that?"_

"Isn't the cement guy on the other team?" Kirishima said in disbelief.

"What is it?" Ashido asked, excitement making her voice higher and faster. "What is it? Where is it?"

"It's in the center of the buildings, all right." Kirishima said.

"My god," Shouji muttered. "I'm on the roof just south and… What the hell?"

Shouto started to run.

His feet hit the concrete ground as fast as he could make them go. Racing down the pavement, he took the corner sharp and nearly skidded into a lamp post. Dodging around it, he navigated to the center of the arena while Kirishima described what he saw in confusion.

"Right so, it's… like a castle? Or a fortress? And I think it's… I have no idea what it's made out of. But it's circular and is that fucking _ice_ sticking out the top? What is-"

"Red Riot watch out!" Hagakure shouted. "What is that?"

"Use your words people!" Jirou snapped. Everyone was running. Everyone was anxious.

Shouto arrived on the scene about the same time as Ojiro. He stumbled to a walk and then a stop, gaping at what sat in front of him.

In the center of the arena, where there had been a makeshift park, there was a newly constructed, well, fortress was probably a good word for it. Maybe. There were ten foot tall walls of bizarre black bubbling. Inside the black it looked like there was faint orange glow, like they were lit with hellfire. Rising above these walls were several icy white spires. There were five of them in total rising up in glittering spirals to sharp points at the top.

There was a ditch or moat dug around the building, which, for its impressive and weird look, wasn't all that big after all. Shouto stepped closer, but Hagakure reached out for his arm, stopping him from getting too close.

"It's a moat," she said, "made of _lava."_

"I can see that," he replied dryly.

"Is that ice?" Kirishima asked, pointing up to the spires.

"It looks like it." Shouto said. But they didn't look like any ice he made. His was raw and jagged in appearance. These ones were sculpted. It looked like the scalloped roof of a castle's spire. Shouto just didn't have that kind of intricate control of his quirk. There wasn't any _need_ for it.

"...Is that … did Midoriya do that?" Hagakure asked. "I mean, none of the others used any sort of ice quirk before and the lava pool is definitely his."

"Uh, speaking of which," Kirishima said, "It's cooling. Do you think we can cross it?"

"Are you insane?" Shouto asked. "It might be cooling on the surface but it's clearly still heated in the center. Step on it and your foot will go right through the crust and melt off." Kirishima backed away another step from the moat.

"Besides," Ojiro said from a little farther off. "I just walked around and there's no way inside."

"Heeeyyo, heeeeroes!"

The five of them looked up towards the call. At the top of the wall there was an icy platform- with railing, Shouto noticed absently- and on that stood one of Class B's 'villains'. She had dark hair and green scaling on her uniform. Shouto identified her as Lizard Lady, aka Tokage. She waved both hands over her head and grinned down at them with a mouth of sharp teeth.

"Do you want to play a game?" She called out, hands cupped around her mouth. It was a bit unnecessary, as she was decently loud enough.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shouto saw movement and looked over to see the other four members of the team arriving. Ashido waved back to Hagakure, but Jirou's attention was up at the building and the girl on top.

"Oh good, you're all here! So we can start playing!"

"This isn't a game," Kirishima called back. "We're here to kick your villain ass and bring you to justice."

The girl bent down and pulled up a dummy. She held it over her head, and called back. "Play my game, heroes, or all my friends will escape and all your precious civilians will die!" She threw her head back, laughing maniacally.

"Ohh, she has go the laugh down _pat."_ Hagakure whispered. "Nice." She brought her hands up, shouting back, "What's the game, villain?"

"Hide and seek!"

"Are you kidding me," Jirou said with a sigh. "What is with this team? First the punching Monoma bit and now this…"

"What are the rules?" Hagakure called. Shouto eyed her, wondering how the hell she became in control of the group. That was just nonsense. She was a stealth hero, not a combat one…

But then again, _hide_ and seek might be right up her alley.

"Rule One! Castle Black is base! If a villain is inside of it, you can't catch them! I'm already here because we thought nine on nine would be most fair," Tokage said, holding out one finger. She slung the dummy over her shoulder as she spoke. "Rule Two! For every villain you capture, you get one of our ten captives. Conversely, for every villain that makes it back to base, a civilian goes into the Pit!" She laughed again, hefting the ragdoll over her head and then _tossed the dummy into the lava moat._

Shouto reacted instantly. The doll was supposed to be a civilian, after all, and he was supposed to save them as the hero. That was what heroes _did._

Racing forward, he swung his right hand out. Ice flared out from his fingers, reaching out to catch the dummy. Before his ice could capture it, though, it twitched mid-air. The movement threw the ragdoll off to the side. He stretched his ice to reach, but it wasn't enough. The ragdoll fell into the lava and instantaneously caught fire.

Tokage gripped the railing with her gloved hands and shouted, _"Follow the Rules, Shouto!_ If you break the rules, then I'm gonna set the Rule Master on you!"

Shouto narrowed his eyes, "What kind of villain name is the Rule Master?"

"That would be mine, Shouto."

Shouto jumped and spun around. That was Midoriya's voice. It was _absolutely_ his voice, and it sounded like it was right in his ear but-

He was only surrounded by his classmates. "Where are you?" He asked, "Show yourself!"

"Shouto? What?" Kirishima looked at him but Shouto was searching the surrounding buildings and then- there. At the top of that one. Dark hair and dark clothes and-

"They can't hear me, _Shouto~"_ Midoriya teased. Shouto felt a shiver run down his spine. It was such an intimate sound. He could almost imagine the breath of the other teen on his ear. "Only you can."

"What do you want?"

"Play the game," Midoriya said, "Come and find me." And then he stepped back and out of view. Shouto gripped his hands into fists and grit his teeth.

Tokage held up a third finger when he looked back to her. "Rule Number Three! The villains will hide until the ten minute mark of the scenario! After that they will attempt to return to base! The Rule Master will only return after all the others have made it back or have been captured! Once he returns to the base, then and _only_ then can the heroes attack Castle Black! Any questions?"

Ashido waved a hand, "Yeah! What if we catch the Rule Master?"

Tokage laughed. "I heard that he'll grant the wish of anyone who manages to catch him. Any wish at all. Not that it matters, of course, because no one can catch him. Not Blasty. Not Ditto-head. Not Icy Hot. And certainly not you, Space Queen!"

"Wow, she went from cool villain to bitch, real fast," Hagakure muttered.

"I'll take Rule Master," Shouto said immediately. He turned on his heel and began walking towards the building he'd seen Midoriya on top of.

"Wait! We haven't agreed to the game!" Ashido said.

"Yeah," Jirou added, "And you going alone isn't really the best idea against him. Is it?"

"You think you can take him?" Shouto asked. "He's the one who built _that."_ Shouto gestured to the monstrosity that was 'Castle Black'. "I'm the only one with a quirk that can come close to matching his."

"It's not about matching quirks," Ojiro said, "It's about outsmarting him."

Shouto gave him a flat look and then gestured at the castle again. "He built that. He probably came up with the rules and helped hide all the others and you want to try and outsmart him? No way. But that much use of a quirk, of at least two quirks has got to wear him down. Tell you what. You all go hunt the other villains and I'll hold him off. When you manage to catch yours, find me." With that said, he walked away.

He was out of earshot but not comm range when he heard an unidentifyable voice mutter, "Jeeze. He can be just as bad as Bakugou sometimes."

Shouto grit his teeth and kept walking. He didn't need them to become the greatest. He could do it on his own with his own quirk _just fine._

* * *

Midoriya waited for him at the farthest corner from the center. He'd left little trails- a couple drops of cooling lava at one spot, some crystals of ice in another- all the way to this location. He leaned against the side of a building with one shoulder, a slight smile on his face and his goggles over his eyes. Shouto stopped when he saw him fully because he could _swear_ there was something green and glowing beneath those tinted glasses.

"I'm here," he said. "I'm playing the shitty game."

Midoriya grinned, "Are you upset, Shouto? Usually you seem to keep your cool better than this."

"Stop calling me that," Shouto snapped. He narrowed his eyes, lifting his right arm in preparation for a fight.

"It's your hero name, isn't it Shouto? If I'm talking directly to you, shouldn't I be using your name, Shouto?" Midoriya said, stepping away from the wall. He rolled his shoulders, lifting his arms above his head to stretch them out. "Don't you like the way I say your name, _Shou~to?"_

"We are the only two people here. It is unnecessary to keep calling me by name."

"No need to get all steamed up about it," Midoriya said. He approached slowly. Shouto's gaze flicked to his hands, but they were relaxed at his sides. Then they went to his face again, but he was just smiling, relaxed. "Are you here to capture me, Mr. Big Time Hero? Or just stare at me?"

He gestured to himself with one gloved hand, "I'm well aware that my clothes are rather tight fitting, after all, I've been getting quite a few looks, but I thought you were here to stop the big bad villain I've become."

"Sounds like you're having a little too much fun with this," Shouto muttered. Midoriya now swung his hands at his sides. He wasn't slowing down. He was still advancing. The ground between them was quickly disappearing.

The hair on the back of Shouto's neck stood on end.

Midoriya gave a little huffing laugh and that was all the warning that Shouto got. In the next instant, Midoriya was in the air above him. Shouto lifted his arm protectively, ice forming instinctively, but his eyes were locked on the boy in green in the air above him.

It was like that day at EUSJ all over again. Midoriya seemed to hover in the air, green from his hair to the glow of his eyes to his uniform. Except this time his scared face was a maddening grin and he held a fist up. And he jumped from his own power and-

Shouto's ice met Midoriya's fist in a shattering of crystals and a forced grunt from his lungs at the hit. He skidded back. There was so much more weight behind Midoriya's punch than he had expected.

"No one said you can't have a good time while you're on the job, Shouto," Midoriya said, landing on his feet. He flexed his hands and lifted them up like a boxer. "Play with me. I want to see what'll make you _burn."_

Shouto grimaced. He drew his ice around him like armor and a spike. "In case you haven't noticed, _Rule Master,_ my quirk is _ice."_

"Said the son of Endeavor and Marzanna."

Shouto's blood turned to ice in one second and then flared hot, burning like an ember as his anger curled, unbidden in his chest. "What did you say?"

"Said the son of _Endeavor"_ Midoriya held out his left fist. A curl of dark flame encircled his knuckles. "And _Marzanna."_ He held out his right fist. Ice formed along the backs of his fingers like knuckle dusters. "What do you say we pair your two quirks against mine? Or do you want to keep pretending that the only blood that runs through you contains ice?"

It was hard to catch his breath. Shouto knew that some people knew- you couldn't be the son of Endeavor, the second highest ranked Pro Hero without people prying into your own life too. He even knew some of his classmates that knew. Endeavor breathing down your back at every sport festival kind of made it impossible to ignore. He was _literally on fire_ most of the time.

But almost no one knew the hero name of his mother. Hell, he hadn't heard it since he was younger, since his sister had told him stories that their mother had told her. Marzanna had only been active for a few years before Endeavor had swept her off her feet and into the hell that had become her life.

She had been incredibly skilled with her quirk, or so he'd been told. Her dedication to the craft was akin to any sort of prodigy in their field. She was like an artist with her ice and yet was as dangerous with it as Endeavor was with his flames.

For Midoriya- a teen formerly held captive by villains for five years- for him to know his mother's hero name-

"Ah," Midoriya said. The pleasure in his voice made Shouto blink. Then he had to blink again because there was smoke around him and where had _that_ come from? "There it is."

Shouto looked down to his left arm. Flame crawled across his uniform. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the curl of red-orange fire on his face, where his red hair should have been. His horror wasn't enough to shut off the quirk and he didn't have time to fully process it before Midoriya came at him again.

Instinctively, Shouto blocked with his dominant side. Midoriya shoved him back again, making him stumble. _Just how strong is he?_ He wondered as he caught his footing just in time to block another punch. Each strike came wide and just slow enough that Shouto always saw them coming. _Is he playing with me? Is he not taking this seriously?_ He narrowed his eyes at Midoriya.

"Come on," Midoriya taunted. His fist was encased in Shouto's ice but he didn't seem to even notice, "Fight me _seriously,_ Shouto. If you don't use one hundred percent of your ability against me, I'll never even break a sweat."

"You will if I turn up the heat!" Shouto snapped. His left side's quirk was hardly controlled- he used it so, so rarely after all- that when he struck, open palmed, against Midoriya's chest, the fire blossomed out in a gush of heat and flame. His eye widened as he realized what he'd done, as he watched Midoriya's uniform catch fire.

Midoriya broke away from his icy hold and danced back a few steps. His clothing burned but he didn't even look down at it. With the hand that was wrapped in fire, he pulled at the ruined top of his jumpsuit and grinned. "That's a little better. Now _bring it."_

Midoriya's bare chest didn't show a single singe mark on it. It was broad and well muscled and caught Shouto's eye a little too long before he made himself look up to the teen's face. _I'm going to wipe that smug little expression right off his face…_

"Fine." Shouto said, "It's not like my shitty old man is going to find out anyway." He let the fire kindle along his arm and side. He flinched whenever it flared to hot or the flames licked too high, though. He wasn't used to it. He still hated to use it, still hated the man who it reminded him of but he… he had to have Midoriya take him seriously.

He had to hold him off. He had to give the others time.

He had to beat Midoriya so the damn kid would talk to him instead of taunt him and he could ask who told him about Marzanna and why.

* * *

Shouto had never fought against anyone like himself-

He'd trained with his father, but the man's fire was nothing like Midoriya's. Endeavor threw flame at every problem like burning it to ashes was the best solution. Midoriya's flame was white hot at his knuckles and existed nowhere else. It was so hot that the flame retardant gloves he wore were burned clear through.

He'd trained a little with his sister too, but she'd never used ice like this and that had been years ago now. Shouto's jagged ice spears or traps seemed shoddy in comparison to Midoriya's pointed knuckle-dusters or the literal daggers he threw. They were solid enough, well enough constructed that Shouto had grabbed one in desperation and threw it back at Midoriya. It had felt just like a slightly too-cold knife in his hands. It was incredible.

Shouto had never fought against anyone so ridiculously overpowered.

Midoriya took flame hits to the body like the fire was no more than slightly-warmer-than-normal air. It parted around him like water around a stone. Midoriya broke through each layer of ice like it was damp tissue paper. It shredded under his touch. His clothing, on the other hand, did not fare well. After his top, he lost his flame glove and then his ice glove. At some point, Shouto iced his goggles so he yanked those down to dangle around his neck.

Flame took the right pant leg. Ice ruined both his shoes.

It wasn't until Midoriya was tearing the ruined tatters of his left pant leg to out of his way that Shouto realized he was, effectively, causing Midoriya to strip down to nothing. He was bare from shoulder to waist and from upper thigh to the soles of his feet.

And he didn't even seem to care about it.

Worse still, he _did_ notice that Shouto noticed.

"Hey Shouto," Midoriya said, snapping his fingers and then pointing to his face, "My eyes are up here."

Guiltily, Shouto's head jerked up. They stood a few feet apart, panting for breath. He was simultaneously proud of himself for causing Midoriya to have a sheen of sweat across his skin and mortified because _he couldn't stop staring at it._ "Did you not prepare your uniform for your quirks?"

"I did," Midoriya said, "I said a simple jumpsuit with flame repellant cloth. I got exactly what I asked for."

"Why only repellant? Why not resistant? You're mostly naked!" Shouto regretted saying that _instantly_ because his comm lit up with people exclaiming various forms of _"What the hell?"_ in his ear. He winced.

"If you didn't want to see me naked," Midoriya said with that aggravatingly teasing tone of voice, "Then you should have been more careful, Shouto. After all, I was kind enough to not burn holes in _your_ uniform." He gestured to said clothing. True, there were scorch marks, but no significant burns. With a grin, he tapped his ear and added, "Ohh, my team is not pleased with that. They're scandalized that the great Shouto is a pervert hero."

"I am not!"

"No need to feel ashamed, Shouto," Midoriya said. "Interest in the attractive bodies of your peers is a healthy part of one's sexual development."

Shouto's fire surged up around him, riding high on the embarrassment he felt. He struggled to contain it, but couldn't manage it. The fire was out of his control- he'd been using it for too long and was growing tired. He hadn't anticipated using both it and his ice quirk. But he couldn't stop now. He couldn't-

Midoriya cocked his head to the side for a moment, "Repeat that, Washer? Oh? Really? Excellent." His gaze flicked to Shouto and he shrugged a shoulder. "Sorry, Shouto. Playtime is over. It's time to return to Castle Black."

"No. I won't let you-"

His words cut off suddenly. Between one and the next, Midoriya went from several feet away to in his face. His fingers were cool as he cupped Shouto's cheek. Shouto's heart hammered in his chest. _He's so close- He's so dangerous and he's so close-_

"Shouto," Midoriya whispered, leaning in, "This was never about you _letting_ me do anything. Don't you recall? I'm a villain. I'm the _Rule Master._ My game. My rules. And it's time for the next game."

"What are you-"

"Sweet dreams, Shoucchan." Midoriya said before pressing his lips against Shouto's.

He noticed they were strangely cool against his own and then Shouto didn't notice anything at all.

* * *

 **TBC**


	9. diner

**Chapter Summary:** Have a good time. Recover lost calories. A bus ride and a hint of something more

 _Villain!Izuku, canon-divergent_

 _(warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation, brainwashing)_

 _This was co-written by kattenprinsen and cross-posted from archive of our own._

* * *

 **Chapter Nine: the diner with the M on the door**

* * *

Hitoshi, half hidden behind the wall of ice and lava, poked his head up to check the streets again. The remaining heroes- there were seven as Rin and Kaibara had worked together to get Kamanari to fry himself- were pulled back into a tight group. They huddled together, keeping an eye on Castle Black but clearly planning _something._

In contrast to their seven, there were only five left of the villains. Kaibara had gotten caught when working against Kamanari. Shishida had gone down to prevent Tsunotori and Komori from getting caught. Kamakiri and Yanagi had gone down together. They were bound up near the heroes; their wrists were tied and they each had a bright ribbon to signify they'd been Caught.

"I wish we still had Scope's eyes," Tokage said next to Hitoshi. "I haven't heard anything from Rule Master since he put Shouto down."

"Do you think he choked him out, like with Blasty?" Tsunotori asked quietly. She looked around at their small group, clearly making the question an open one.

Hitoshi shrugged, like most of the rest of them. This group was a collection of some of the quieter kids in their class, besides Tokage. He could tell she was holding back in her chatter because she kept grumbling under her breath. The others waited quietly, listening for any sign of change.

This time, he was the first one to catch sight of Izuku. Hitoshi had a hand over his eyes to shield against the glare and was checking down one of the side streets when he saw the movement. Leaning forward, he said, "There. That's…" his voice trailed off.

Even from a distance it was clear to see that Izuku' uniform had been damaged. And that he was carrying Todoroki in his arms _bridal style._

Hitoshi wanted to swallow his tongue. The closer the two got, the more details he could make out of the two of them. Izuku's goggles hung down around his neck. He stood straight and tall, carrying Todoroki in his arms like the other teen weighed nothing. His arms and chest were bare, from what Hitoshi could see, and the glimpses of his legs were _also_ bare.

Todoroki looked like he was either asleep or unconscious. His arms were folded on his chest and his head was against Izuku's shoulder. He didn't seem to be moving or struggling in the least bit.

Izuku walked forward with a smooth, confident gait. It took a moment for the heroes to see him, but when they did they just stared in open mouth shock.

"He really is naked," Tokage whispered in awe. "Shouto totally fucking ruined his clothes. He's such a pervert."

For some reason, she turned to look at Hitoshi, "Washer, you totally can't let that pervert get away with that! Rule Master is practically your boyfriend, isn't he?"

Hitoshi's face burned. He pulled back from her, his mind reeling at her almost-accusation. "He's not. We're just friends. I swear!"

"Uh huh," She said, "And Shouto just ripped all your friend's clothes off!"

"Pervert," Komori whispered.

"Actually," Izuku said over the comm, "Half of them he burned off, half he iced off. He was very determined and a little upset. And I'm not completely naked. See?" He paused in his walk to half turn towards them, showing his side and back. His uniform was almost completely torn to shreds, creating some sort of weird short-shorts look over his underwear. Hitoshi wasn't exactly sure what was on Izuku's dark blue underwear, but he could see an edge of gold or red to them and he really wanted to know.

He leaned his forehead on the ice to cool his heated face. _Friends. We're just friends. Don't hit on the traumatized guy. Don't do it. He needs friends, not romance bullshit!_ Which, honestly, only made Shouto's act even more awful.

"...I'm going to make him strip too…" Hitoshi said to himself. What had Izuku said before? An eye for an eye, an arm for an arm?

"There will be plenty of time for stripping later," Izuku said over the comm, making Hitoshi jump. "For now, I'd like a way up, please? The heroes aren't waiting around anymore."

Looking up, Hitoshi saw Kirishima and Ojiro running towards Izuku now. Izuku, in turn, was running to Castle Black. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel!" Izuku shouted, grinning madly. "Let down your hair!"

Tokage grabbed the strange rope that had been left behind by Izuku to help them get up. She flung it over the side, where it dangled over the pit of lava. The trick was getting to the rope itself- as the only way up into Castle Black.

Without stopping his running, Izuku put Todoroki on his shoulder. His stride seemed to lengthen even more, keeping him just out of reach of the heroes. He reached the moat and flung himself across it. One handed, he grabbed the rope, but it began to slide downwards immediately. Hitoshi's classmates yelped as they grabbed for it. Hitoshi did too. It was cool and almost slick in his hands.

They clung to it, unable to pull but able to be an anchor as Izuku pulled himself up, walking up the side of Castle Black with the rope as stability. He reached the top fairly quickly and dumped Todoroki into Hitoshi's lap. "Here," he said, "A present just for you."

Todoroki mumbled something and moved a little. "What?" Hitoshi gaped. "Is he okay?"

"Don't worry, he's just sleeping. Well, dreaming. I used a quirk on him because he was going to keep fighting and burn himself out." Izuku said. He sat on the top of the wall, shaking his foot out over the side. Red hot lava clung to his heels and toes and he flicked it off with his bare fingers. Hitoshi stared at that. He stared, also, at the way Izuku's back muscles flexed and the way he seemed to gleam in the sunlight that reflected off the icy towers.

"Now what do we do, Rule Master?" Tokage said gleefully.

"How many minutes have we got left?"

"Five or six," Rin said.

Hitoshi dragged his eyes off of Izuku to look down at the teen in his lap. He was mumbling again, frowning in his sleep. Hitoshi shifted him so he was more across the thighs and in a comfortable position. That didn't stop the frowning, but it did stop the mumbling.

"Cool," Izuku said, "So we just need to hold them off."

"What about our teammates? Should we try to rescue them?"

"In some cases, yeah, that would be a typical next move. Especially if we were a normal small villain group because those are usually tightly knit friends or relatives. In this case we know that it's going to end safely, so we don't need to bother. No one is actually going to jail. We won't have to stage a break in to get them back." Izuku ran a hand through his hair, sending a small cascade of ice crystals running down his back. He didn't even seem to notice them as he lifted his goggles back to cover his eyes.

"Do villains really do that?" Tokage asked.

"Do what?" Izuku asked, "Work in groups? Or with relatives? Or break into jail?"

"Yes." She said, "That."

Izuku laughed. He crossed his legs, still sitting on the wall of Castle Black. "Yeah. So I heard, anyway. Anyway…. We said they could attack once I got back, right? What do you suppose they're going to try and do?"

Rin eased closer to the edge. The roof that they sat on was icy, but the wall around them was made of ice with the cooled lava on the outer side and was high enough that they could sit or kneel and have it up to the chest. Only Izuku was in a dangerous spot, sitting where he could easily slip and fall. Hitoshi had a feeling that it would take more than a fifteen foot drop into lava to do anything to Izuku, though.

"It seems as though they are trying to find a way to cross the lava moat. It has been cooling for ten minutes after all but they're still concerned about the heat," Rin said.

"Well considering I just stepped in it and came out with lava on my toes, I'm not surprised," Izuku said. He rocked back and forth idly on the wall. "We could just wait it out…"

Tokage sighed heavily. "But that's _boring."_

"How are they going to tally points at the end of this?" Hitoshi asked. "We lost four, we captured Shouto here. They have four of the hostages, but we only gave them the hero ones like you said. The civilian ones were burnt up in the lava."

"That was fun," Tokage said. "Especially when they tried to stop them and Spirit possessed the bodies and made them flip out of the way."

"You make a good villainess," Tsunotori said. "The evil laughter is very well done."

Tokage flushed and mumbled, "I used to watch a lot of those old cartoons- you know the ones with Batman and his nemesis the Joker?"

"Batman?" Izuku asked, turning to look over his shoulder. "Those really are old ones. I didn't know they still aired."

"My dad's a sucker for them," Tokage said. "He has every copy of those old Batman cartoons." She shrugged, "I mean, they're okay I guess. He's technically just a glorified vigilante though, isn't he?"

"Vigilantes are tricky folk," Izuku said looking back to the heroes down below. Hitoshi edged closer to the wall, dragging Todoroki with him. He saw that half the group had gone somewhere else. Were they circling around? Going for high ground? The captured villains- their classmates- hadn't been moved. "They tend to have particularly strong morals and a willingness to do whatever they need to do to adhere to them." He put his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand. "Each one has to be reasoned with individually, whereas most heroes follow the same subset of internal morals."

"What about a villain's morals?" Hitoshi asked.

"What morals," Tokage snorted.

"They tend to fall into two categories," Izuku said. "Petty selfishness and grandiose egoism." He gestured idly with his free hand, "Once you figure out on which side of the line they sit, it's easy to, ah, deal with them."

 _'Deal with them'_ Izuku said. But Hitoshi felt a shiver run across his skin. That didn't sound right, though. The words he said didn't sound like the ones he meant. His thoughts were distracted by a sudden turning of Todoroki, though, and the young man in his lap was mumbling incoherently.

"Uh," Tokage said, "is he supposed to be doing that?"

Izuku glanced over his shoulder again. He gave a smile that had a lot more teeth than anything. "He's dreaming. I have a quirk that puts people to sleep and makes them dream about things. I mean, I can't make them dream about something specific, so it's usually what was most on their mind at the time."

"Weird quirk…" Tsunotori said. "How do you use it?"

"Oh. By kissing them. I call it the Sleeping Beauty quirk."

Hitoshi blinked. He looked down at Todoroki, who Izuku had _kissed_ and then up at Izuku, who looked completely nonchalant about the fact that he'd kissed _Todoroki._

There was a deep moment of silence and then Tsunotori whispered, "You really kissed him?"

"It's how the quirk works."

"So… What does that mean?" Tsunotori asked. She gave a sideways glance to Hitoshi who blinked at her and frowned. Why was she looking at him like that? Her next question was still directed to Izuku. "Do you like kissing boys?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Do I like kissing boys," he repeated.

"Or do you like kissing girls?" Tokage asked.

"It's just a kissing quirk," Izuku said with a shrug. "It doesn't mean anything to use it."

"What about outside the quirk?" Tokage insisted, "Who do you like to kiss then?"

"Guys," Hitoshi said. He was tempted to use his quirk to shut them all the hell up. Any more of this conversation and his stomach would turn in on itself in embarrassment. "Is this really the place?"

"Rule Master said that villains are all about _fun,"_ Tokage said. "Isn't it fun to find out gossip?"

"Is it really gossip to-" Izuku started and then he suddenly whirled around, getting to his feet. The bubbles of lava crunched under his bare feet as he leaped up and into the air. They all looked up and saw above them the gliding Tentacles holding Red Riot- or rather _dropping_ Red Riot down on top of them.

Izuku met him mid-air, his punch colliding with Red Riot's hardened palm. "I was in the middle of a conversation, Riot!" Izuku complained. "What kind of timing is that?"

Tentacles landed on one of the spires and began sliding down it. Izuku and the redhead landed on the back end of the top of Castle Black. They grappled instantly while Rin leapt to his feet and rushed to meet Tentacles. Komori caught up two of the civilian dummies, Tsunotori grabbed the other three and they both went for the wall.

Hitoshi was stuck with Todoroki on his lap and an idea in his head. He took in a deep breath of air and shouted, "Oi!"

The fighting paused for a second. He gestured to Todoroki and said, "Rule Master kissed Shouto."

Red Riot gaped, _"What?"_

Tentacle glanced to Izuku in surprise, "He did?"

Izuku grinned at them and didn't say anything. Hitoshi smirked, feeling as his quirk overtook both Red Riot and Tentacle. "Please take a seat and put your hands, all of your hands, flat on the ice floor." Automatically, the two under his control did just that.

"Woah," Tokage breathed out. "You totally caught them."

Izuku brushed off his shoulder, even though there was nothing there to brush off or brush against except his bare skin, and walked back. He dropped down onto the ice beside Hitoshi. They both ignored the slight crack in the ice that started when he hit the floor. "Nice job."

Rin was the one who took the capture tape from the two heroes and bound their arms together. Then he sat down in front of them as if to guard them.

"...I think there are two minutes left," Komori said, settling back down. "Maybe one."

Tokage grinned. "We totally won."

Izuku put his arm around Hitoshi's shoulder. His grip was warm and solid. He pulled Hitoshi close until they were exactly side by side with nothing between him and all that bare, tanned skin but his own uniform. He cleared his throat several times, but never could quite get the nervousness swallowed down.

Before any conversation could strike up again, a flare went up and an alarm echoed over the arena, signalling the battle was over. The kids all cheered. Hitoshi quickly released their two captives from his mind control.

Izuku bent over into his lap and kissed Todoroki.

Hitoshi stared, watching as his friend cupped Todoroki's cheek with one hand, the other still resting on his own shoulder. It looked like such a soft thing. He couldn't tell if Izuku's eyes were closed beneath his goggles, but he imagined they were. When he drew back, it was slow, and his fingers trailed through the ends of Todoroki's red hair.

Todoroki himself blinked awake a second or two later. His eyes met Hitoshi's and then widened suddenly. He sat up sharply, his cheeks flushed and his head nearly colliding with Hitoshi's. It would have except Izuku pulled him back.

"What the- Where the-" Todoroki looked around wildly.

"Battle's over, Todoroki," Izuku said cheerfully. "It's time to find out who won."

"It's … what?" His voice faltered with his confusion.

Tokage, standing up, stretched her arms over her head. "I guess this was an okay end. It seems pretty lame, though. I just hung out here for like, the whole time!"

"How do we get down?" Kirishima asked as he got up as well.

"Ice slide." Izuku said. He pulled his arm away from Hitoshi as he got up. Hitoshi wasn't the only one who stared at his body as he, too, stretched and walked to the wall. He distantly heard Kirishima give a soft gasp and a whisper of, "Woah… He's so ripped."

Izuku walked as naturally in nothing more than tattered 'shorts' as he had in his actual full suit. He bent over, putting his hands on the wall and Hitoshi turned away from the sight of his ass and thighs in embarrassment. Only to confirm that yes, _everyone_ was staring. Including Todoroki. And Kirishima. And Tsunotori too. Everyone.

Tokage was even grinning, eyeing Izuku shamelessly. Hitoshi glared at her and she glanced to him and shrugged. "What?"

There was the sound of ice forming and Hitoshi was distracted from his glaring to look and see the incredible slide that Izuku was forming. Tokage sidled over and whistled. "Look at that! It's got railing and everything. You know what this reminds me of?"

"What?" Izuku asked.

"That staircase in Frozen," she said, "Except without the stair part. The railing is incredible. How are you so good at this quirk? I thought your main on was the lava spitting! You can't be Lava Dude if you're spitting out ice like Elsa."

"Oooh," Tsunotori said, crowding close. "This looks like a lot of fun! I'll go first!"

"Send the dummies first," Izuku said instead, "Just to check. I've used this quirk a lot today so I want to make sure it'll support people before we jump on. Okay?"

"Sure," Tsunotori dumped the dummies she held onto the ice, letting them slide down. Komori brought over the other two and let them slide. Only then did Izuku wave them down. The two slid down one after the other, giggling madly as they did. Tokage followed them with a whoop of delight. Kirishima followed with a shout. Shouji went afterwards, giving a glance to Todoroki who lingered. Rin followed them. Izuku stood to the side.

"Who's next?" He asked, looking from Hitoshi to Todoroki.

"If you can use ice like this, why do you bother with the lava?" Todoroki asked instead when Hitoshi made no move to go first.

Izuku smiled, "I've mastered the ice. I haven't mastered the lava. It would be irresponsible if I didn't learn how to control my quirks. They'd be dangerous if I let them run wild whenever I got upset."

Todoroki shifted on his feet, turning his left side slightly away from Izuku. Hitoshi saw his fist tighten up as well. He gave a slight nod and walked to the slide. He took it without another word.

When Izuku looked to him, Hitoshi said the first thing that came to mind. "Why did you kiss him?" He regretted the words immediately. Wincing, he shook his head, "No. Don't-"

"Just to put him to sleep," Izuku said. "And wake him up again. Like I said, when I'm using that quirk I don't really consider it a kiss. Kisses mean something else."

"If… If quirk kisses don't count," Hitoshi fumbled through the words. Why was he asking? Why did he care? It wasn't as if kissing were that much of a big deal. "Then have you…?"

"Have I had a kiss that counts?"

Hitoshi shrugged.

"Yeah. A few." Izuku said. "What about you?"

"Yeah. I guess so."

Izuku gave him a thumbs up, "Nice."

He was so casual about it. Smiling and giving him a thumbs up and being so confident in his asking- Did Izuku not feel like he felt? Did Izuku not feel- What _was_ it that Hitoshi felt about Izuku kissing other people? Envy? Irritation?

Jealousy?

"We should go," Izuku said.

Hitoshi nodded and took the slide down. Wind whipped his hair and for a brief, dizzying second he could see the faintly glowing lava below, but then the slide smoothed out and he came to a stop at the bottom. He hurriedly got to his feet, brushing droplets of thawing ice from his clothes. He looked up in time to see Izuku sliding after him.

He landed at the bottom of the slide in a tumble, but quickly got to his feet. Izuku grinned to Hitoshi. "That was fun."

"Do you really think we won?" Hitoshi asked.

"By the point system, yes. But according to the teachers? Maybe not." Izuku shrugged. "It depends, really." Hitoshi nodded. It would come down to their teachers, after all.

All Might was the one to corral them out of the arena, grinning at them all and giving no hint to who had won. Hitoshi, surprisingly, didn't find that as irritating as it could have been. That might have been because he felt like they'd done well or maybe it was because he'd sort of genuinely enjoyed himself during the hiding and seeking and scrambling up the side of Castle Black to the sound of Tokage cackling and Tsunotori cheering for him. Or maybe it was because Izuku bumped shoulders with him, patted him on the back, and stood with him while their team gathered around them.

Kaibara complains about getting caught and Shishida bumps knuckles with Izuku over 'incredible displays of strength' or something. Hitoshi notices Kirishima looking over at them and elbows Izuku, gesturing towards the redhead.

Kirishima gives a thumbs up and says, "You look like you're doing better, Midoriya! That was some crazy castle you made there!"

"Yeah? Thanks!" Izuku said back. "It was really exhausting. I was worried you guys would find us before I finished it."

"We didn't know you had an ice quirk," Jirou says, poking her head out from around Kirishima. "Is it like Todoroki's? Or do you have a borrowing thing like Monoma, since you took Todoroki with you."

"No, that's one of mine," Izuku said. "It's really only good at building something I have a concrete image of, though, like walls or slides or rope. It doesn't work like Todoroki's, but it's similar."

Hitoshi couldn't help it. He looked over the Class A group, searching for the teen with two colored hair. He spotted him, walking at the farther edge of the group, watching Izuku. Their eyes met for a long, tense moment. Hitoshi thought Todoroki looked a little strange. Off, somehow. Not like he was afraid, but that he was… wary maybe? Uncertain?

Todoroki pressed his lips into a thin line and Hitoshi found himself remembering the way Izuku had kissed the other boy, bent over Hitoshi's lap. Izuku might not count it as a kiss but Todoroki- Izuku interrupted his thoughts when he caught Hitoshi's wrist and tugged. Hitoshi blinked and looked over.

Izuku grinned at him. "Didn't you hear, Hitoshi?"

"Mm?"

"We won!" Tokage shouts, throwing her arms in the air.

"What?" Hitoshi gaped. "We did?"

All Might stands in the center of the group, fists at his waist and grinning. "Congratulations Team D! It was an unorthodox tactic, but villains work in unorthodox ways! You managed to keep the majority of your teammates _and_ capture several of the heroes. It was a successful strategy and grand display of teamwork!"

There were high fives given all around. Izuku's grip on Hitoshi's wrist tightened. Hitoshi felt a little smile on his face, just a little one.

"Team C, you were at a slight disadvantage from the beginning, missing your tenth member, but you performed admirably! You did not give up the fight even until the last, and used unique tactics to rescue those that you could." All Might praised them as well. "Everyone should be proud of themselves for this match."

"That was good quick thinking with your quirk at the end," Izuku murmurs, distracting Hitoshi from All Might's speech. He's leaning over, slightly, more in Hitoshi's space than he had been before. "It would have been a close call, otherwise. I think the others were lying in wait near the bottom, expecting some of us to flee."

"Thanks," Hitoshi said. Izuku had pushed his goggles back down to hang around his neck. He noticed this because he could see clearly into Izuku's eyes. They were bright green and he stood close enough he could see little flecks of gold and black? In them. Remembering the way they glowed before, Hitoshi opened his mouth to ask when a someone bumped into his back, throwing their arm around his and Izuku's shoulders.

Tokage grinned at them, "Since we totally, absolutely won, Yousetsu said he was gonna buy us some meat buns at the shop after school! Do you two wanna come?"

There was a loud growling sound that came from Izuku's abdomen. He blushed and said, "I'm in. I'm absolutely starving."

"Sure," Hitoshi says and then Tokage's sliding away again, fists in the air with a shout of "two more, Yousetsu!" and they're left alone.

Hitoshi is very aware that Izuku hasn't let go of his arm yet. He's also aware that those fingers have slid a little lower and now are half over the heel of his hand. He takes in a breath. Let's it out again.

"Hey," Izuku asks quietly, "After the meat bun thing… Do you want to get some real food? My treat."

Hitoshi swallows dryly and nods, unable to speak. Izuku smiles at him, squeezes his hand gently, and then pulls away at last, joining a conversation where someone starts asking him about how he lost his clothes and he starts talking about his fight with Todoroki.

It's like outside the infirmary all over again. Hitoshi can still feel the warmth of Izuku's hand holding his own for that brief second. He squeezes his into fists and takes a shaky breath to calm himself down. This time, without Izuku to distract him, it works.

* * *

It's a forty minute bus ride from the school to the street that Izuku says has the best restaurant in the entire district. Hitoshi spends most of that trip reading through a homework textbook while Izuku drowses. They both have to stand for half the ride, but Izuku's grip on the handle above his head is firm and his head only barely rests on Hitoshi's shoulder. They're still in their uniforms and at first they're not the only students on the bus. As time goes on, though, Hitoshi notices that they get more and more looks as there are fewer and fewer students and more and more… well…

It's not that the people around them are adults, it's that they don't seem much like office types. Only one in five has clothing similar to what his mom would wear to work- a suit or pencil skirt- something professional or even business casual. Most of the others who get on or off wear casual clothes with signs of lots of wear.

At one stop, five or six people that are, at best, no older than highschool students get on. One of them, taller than the others and with dark wild hair, glances over to them. He does an obvious double take at the two of them, eyes widening slightly. Hitoshi holds still, looking back at him. The guy is at the front of the bus with his group and most of them have to stand too. It isn't their clothes that makes Hitoshi stare, or even just the fact that he's staring at them-

It's the guy's skin.

Hitoshi goes to Yuuei, so he's seen plenty of people whose quirks have made them look a little odd. There's Bondo, Shishida, Fukidashi and Kamakiri in his own class, for one, and Tokoyami, Ashido, Shouji and Kouda in Class A that all look different because of their quirks. But the difference here is that they were clearly born looking like that and this guy…

It looks like parts of his skin were burned badly, or just… scarred somehow. There are stitches or staples that keep the differing pieces of skin together and where it isn't red and rippled it looks almost too pale. Hitoshi's not entirely sure which part of the skin is the original part; the pale skin around his eyes or the red that runs down his throat?

The guy stares and stares at them, silent. He responds to his friends when they talk to him, but he doesn't look away for more than a second. The hair on the back of Hitoshi's neck stands on end.

He jumps when he hears Izuku huff out a heavy sigh and lift his head. Hitoshi glances back at him only to see him looking at the man with the weird skin. Izuku arches an eyebrow, just one, and gives the man the mildest expression of curiosity that Hitoshi's ever seen. The man abruptly turns away from them so Hitoshi can't see his face.

Tiredly, Izuku yawns and leans his cheek on Hitoshi's shoulder as though he didn't just intimidate a weirdo on the bus with an arched brow.

Hitoshi lets out the breath he didn't know he held and relaxes, slowly. He looks down at his book again and gets back to reading.

He's just reached the end of the chapter when Izuku wakes again and nudges him. "Here's our stop."

They get off together, Izuku hitching his bag up higher on his shoulder. They're two of a handful that get off, but the man with the scarred skin isn't around- neither is his group. Hitoshi looks around, feeling a little nervous. He's never been in this part of town before, hasn't ever heard of these streets or these shops. He doesn't go out much, doesn't know how exactly to get back home if he were stranded here.

Izuku takes his hand and tugs him along, preventing him from standing there, stiff from worry and unmoving. "C'mon," he said eagerly. "It's this way. Seriously, this is the best place in town."

Hitoshi curls his fingers around Izuku's, grateful for the contact. It's a solid, warm grip and strong, too. Izuku is just very strong, Hitoshi's come to learn. If he doesn't watch his strength he tends to do things like snap pencils or dent doorknobs. It's a little scary at times, but he's never turned that strength on Hitoshi or anyone else so-

The restaurant they end up in front of has a bright red awning above it, but that's not what makes Hitoshi's thoughts about Izuku's hands cut off. It's not even the gaudy, bright gold M painted on the door. It's the look on Izuku's face.

He's grinning like a little kid- he even looks a little younger again- and Hitoshi is reminded of the phone call, of Izuku's joyous laugh, of the way he seemed to catch sunlight behind him and absorb it into his body, only to turn around and let it radiate out in smiles like this.

 _Oh my god,_ Hitoshi thinks numbly as Izuku drags him into the restaurant by the hand, _I am in such serious trouble. This crush has gotten way out of hand._

Hitoshi wants to laugh because while that is, indeed, very true, it's also truth that Izuku is still holding his hand.

They get three feet into the diner before they stop dead in their tracks.

Izuku grins. Hitoshi gapes.

Every inch of the place is well lit and gleaming. There are booths and tables and a counter, just like any other restaurant. There's a really tall young woman with incredibly long legs and a nametag that says _Hostess_ with the name _Ami_ written beneath it. It's the theme of the place that has frozen Hitoshi in his place.

There is All Might memorabilia _everywhere._ Posters, framed autographed pictures, news paper clippings and more cover the walls. There are at least three life sized cardboard cutouts around the room that he can see and everything is themed in red and gold and blue from the tablecloths to the napkins to the fucking floor tile.

Hitoshi looks at Izuku, who has stars in his eyes. Ami, their hostess, smiles and greets them. "Just two?" She asks. Her eyes flicker down to their held hands. Hitoshi tries to let go but you can't let go of Izuku's hand, it seems. He just keeps holding on without you.

"Two," he confirmed. "A booth please."

She nods and smiles. "This way." Then it's Hitoshi's turn to tug Izuku after him as they're lead to a booth.

Izuku finally lets go to sink down into his seat. Hitoshi sits across from him and looks pointedly around before meeting Izuku's eyes. "So this is the best diner in the whole city, huh."

Izuku has the decency to flush and his hands flutter restlessly in front of himself. Hitoshi hasn't seen much of this side of Izuku, but occasionally a bit of the fanboy creeps through in class. "The food is really good, Hitoshi, and so is the service! I just… It just also happens to be the biggest All Might fan hangout?"

Hitoshi pulls his phone out of his pocket. "I have to document this for my blog," he says. "No one will believe me otherwise." He turns in his seat, taking some pictures of the room around them before lifting his phone up and saying, "Do you want to be included or not?"

"Sure," Izuku laughs. He throws up a peace sign to Hitoshi, who takes the picture. He then starts working on the post itself, forgetting entirely about the menu that Izuku starts to read through.

The waitress that comes by gives them a bit of a tired smile and asks for their order. Hitoshi guiltily looks up from his phone; his menu hasn't even been touched. Izuku flips open his own and points to a section, saying "One of everything from there, please."

The woman looks at him and blinks. Izuku meets her eyes, grinning, and after a minute she blinks. Straightening up a little, she clears her throat and looks to Hitoshi, "And you, sir?"

Hitoshi blinks. _Sir?_ She hadn't been nearly so formal just a second ago. "Uh… I haven't…" He looks quickly at the section that Izuku pointed to and saw that about half of those plates look interesting in one way or another. "Just some extra plates. We'll share."

"Of course. Thank you." She takes their menus and quickly hurries away.

Izuku leans an elbow on the table, eyebrows lifted, "We'll share?" He repeats back, smiling slightly.

"You can't possibly eat all that yourself. And this way I get to try several things instead of just the one." Hitoshi ignores the twisting in his belly that tells him sharing plates of food is something _special._ It isn't. He does it with his siblings. He figures friends do it too.

"What? You think I'd order all that and not be able to eat it?"

"You'll burst trying."

"I'll have you know I have an elastic quirk," Izuku sniffed, "I can eat as much as I need and never burst."

"But do you really need all of that?"

Izuku nodded, "Absolutely. Do you know how many quirks I ended up using today?"

Hitoshi shook his head. Of course he didn't. He only knew, for sure, that Izuku had a lava quirk, the gas manipulation quirk, some sort of brain related 'primary' quirk, an ice quirk and the kissing quirk. He wasn't a hundred percent positive about the smile-charm quirk but… only because HItoshi hadn't really noticed it again since that first day or two.

"Like, ten or something. A lot of them. So I'm absolutely ravenous."

Hitoshi frowned a little. He'd been hoping for a list of sorts, but didn't feel it was a good idea to pry. He huffed out a 'whatever, sure,' and ducked his head down to finish his post. Izuku put his other elbow on the table, his chin resting in his hands, watching.

The first thing the waitress brought them was a milkshake for Izuku and soda for Hitoshi. He accepted it happily, though there was a weird thought in his mind of _"Did you hear Izuku order these drinks?"_ that he couldn't quite shake. Izuku closes his eyes in utter contentment as he sucks down the milkshake.

His hands cradle the base and his lips seal off the top of the straw. He sucks down half of the milkshake with his eyes closed, barely stopping to breathe through his nose, while Hitoshi watches with wide, wide eyes. Izuku lets go of the straw with an audible sigh of pleasure and a glowing smile.

Hitoshi's thoughts veer off to the side and hang a left right into the gutter. He clears his throat, tears his eyes away and drinks his soda with a tight throat. He hears a shifting of cloth, sees Izuku moving a little and looks up to see the other teen adjusting his sitting position.

It's one of Izuku's weird habits. (He has a lot of them. Hitoshi takes notice but tries not to say anything- he doesn't want to make Izuku self-conscious.) He doesn't like to sit with his feet touching the floor for very long. So even though his legs are long and often he's got no space on his chair (like in their school desks) he tucks his legs up and sits cross-legged.

Hitoshi notices this one a lot, maybe the most, and it always makes him wonder.

Izuku stirs his straw around and around in the bottom third of the milkshake that's left. He looks up from it, his eyes bright. "Want to try some? It's good. Chocolate flavored."

"...sure." Hitoshi shrugged.

Izuku pushes the milkshake over and Hitoshi takes a sip. It is pretty good, actually. A rich chocolate flavor of ice cream that slides easily down his throat. He licks his lips and pushes it back. As he does so, a strange white mist opens up at one side of their booth. "What the-"

"That's the way they serve the meal here," Izuku said gleefully. "The servers do drinks and stuff because they can spill, but the food comes out like this." He gestures towards the small white circle of mist. Hitoshi's eyes widen as bowls of food come out of the misty portal. Izuku takes them quickly and starts placing them around the table. "Anything look particularly good?"

Hitoshi reaches out and slides one of the bowls closer. "Yeah. Do you care if i just-"

"Go ahead, pick and choose. I'll eat whatever you don't." Izuku gestures over the table's surface.

"Yeah right," Hitoshi says with a roll of his eyes. As more and more plates come through, he becomes more and more confident that there's no way Izuku can eat all of that. "You know what? Before you touch any of this, I want to take a picture."

"For your blog?" Izuku asked, grinning as he squeezed another bowl into a corner. "Sure. Want me to pose again?" The misty portal finally vanished, ending the stream of food.

"Sure," Hitoshi said. He slid out of the bench and stood up to get the best picture. He took some of just the table and then a few with Izuku grinning over it, holding chopsticks in one hand and an empty bowl in the other. Just before he sat down, though, there was a tap to his shoulder.

Hitoshi turned to see a blond young woman standing next to him. Her face lit up with a toothy grin as she saw his face. "It's you! It's really you!"

Hitoshi's pretty sure he's never seen her before. He'd probably recognize the hairstyle or the oversized sweater or the way she swings her fists up and down excitedly in the space between them. He'd definitely recognize that shining, euphoric look in her eyes and that big, broad smile. "Excuse me?"

"Nekonaptsune!" She cried and Hitoshi feels the blood drain from his face. That was his- "You're him, aren't you? That's your blog?" She bounces on her toes, way too excited. "I saw you post pictures of the diner and I knew the diner so I came to say hi and to see you in person for realsies!" She spoke quickly, too and abruptly turned to look at Izuku. "And you too! You're the boy he blogs about, aren't you? You're Izu-kun!"

Izuku has his cheeks stuffed full with food. A noodle hangs from his mouth. He holds a bowl near his face and chopsticks hover in the air mid serve. "Mmmg?" He cocked his head to the side.

"Uh," Hitoshi cleared his throat. "Who are you?"

"My name is Himiko!" She said excitedly. "I follow your blog! I've been following for a while because your cat pictures are sooooo cute! Oh! Do you mean my url? It's himi-himechan. Here, I'll show you my blog!" Hitoshi blinked, reeling a little bit. He's never met any of his followers in real life before. He didn't even think any of them lived around here but … here she was…

She pulled out her phone and, after a few button taps, brought up her own blog. It was- Pink. Very pink. And not just the background. The pictures were also pink but in a _very_ different way.

 _Villains have television too._ Izuku's voice rose up in the back of his head, soft and dark. It made Hitoshi shiver. _Television, phones, internet, blogs…_ He feels a little queasy as he looks away. "You follow my blog for… the kittens?"

"I love the kittens," Himiko says with complete sincerity.

"Ah." Hitoshi has no idea what to say to her.

Izuku cleared his throat. "Do you mind, Himiko-san? We're trying to have our dinner?" He gestured with his half empty bowl. Hitoshi belatedly realized that it was his second. The first was empty in front of him already.

"Ooh I'm so sorry! I just wanted to get a picture if I could? You see my friend will be so jealous that I got a picture with you two!" She beamed at Hitoshi, holding her phone tight in both hands, "We're following all your adventures in _love,_ Neko-san."

Hitoshi flushed, "It's not- That's just a-" He looks at Izuku, who has his mouth full again as he looks curiously back. "It's just a tag I use for some of my posts. I'm _not_ having an adventure in love."

Himiko pouted. "But-"

"Himiko-san," Izuku said, his voice chilly but so polite, "That's enough. Thank you for coming to say hi."

She looked down at her shoes and mumbled, "No picture?"

Her expression was miserable. Hitoshi had a hard time connecting this bubbly, excitable girl with that gorey blog he'd seen. He winced, realizing that he didn't actually _know_ if she was a villain. She just might… be interested in that kind of stuff for some other reason. "One picture," he said, quietly. It was… probably worth it, the way she lit up and grinned at him.

She threw her arm around his shoulder, pressing her cheek against his and held up her phone. "Smile, Neko-san!" He did smile. She smelled like something sweet- candy or something- and was warm where she held him. Himiko took the picture, looked at it on her phone and then gave an excited giggle. She pressed a glossy-lipped kiss to Hitoshi's cheek before dashing away, waving her phone above her head and cheering excitedly.

Hitoshi blushed. They were getting a lot of bemused stares by the other patrons and it made him blush even worse. He slid back into his seat and sighed heavily. Izuku held out his bowl where there was a tempura shrimp resting in the bottom.

"Here," he said, "Help me finish this off, okay?"

Hitoshi rolled his eyes and reached out with his chopsticks. He popped the shrimp into his mouth and ate it. Swallowing, he said, "That was actually really good."

"It all is. Seriously, dig in!"

With a nod, Hitoshi did just that.

* * *

The sun has gone down by the time they make it back to the bus stop. They sit on the bench with a few other people, waiting together in relative ease. It's too dark to read his book, so Hitoshi's just scrolling on his dash, checking today's updates and the notes he got on the All Might diner. Not many of his followers are super into the hero, but they've all been following his posts on Izuku so he's got plenty of disbelieving comments on the insane amount of food that Izuku ate.

Izuku sits next to him, and if Hitoshi thought it was a bit cute when Izuku was drowsing on the bus on the way there, he was so, so mistaken.

His friend is completely out of it, leaning against Hitoshi's shoulder with his hair in his face and his hand fisting Hitoshi's sleeve. He snores softly, his mouth slightly open and Hitoshi's pretty sure Izuku is going to start drooling on him but he doesn't want to move Izuku and wake him up.

It's been a long day and a crazy one. Izuku's been at the center of it all and Hitoshi knows how much it sucks to not be able to get decent sleep. So he just sits there, his arm slowly going numb from the weight of Izuku's head as they wait for the bus together.

When it finally rolls up, Hitoshi wakes Izuku awake and helps him get to his feet. Izuku's heavier than Hitoshi remembers, but considering he ate half his body weight in food, that's not really much of of a surprise. Izuku blinks awake and follows Hitoshi onto the bus, where they find a seat near the back together.

There are only a few other people on the bus- though there were ten or so at the stop waiting, only another pair get on at the same time as Hitoshi and Izuku. Hitoshi notices them looking at Izuku and his heart races a little, remembering they're in a strange part of town he's never been and Izuku is dead to the world.

Protectively, he puts his arm around Izuku's shoulder and holds him close to his side. Hitoshi ignores the way his face heats up as Izuku snuggles against him, muttering something unintelligible. They're still in their school uniforms, and Hitoshi is acutely aware that all the commuters are long gone. The people who are on the bus now remind him more of that group that he'd seen before, the ones accompanying the man with the scars and staples in his skin.

The couple that he saw looking at him and Izuku sit in the middle of the bus where Hitoshi can see them in profile. The man is tall, tall as All Might, probably, and wearing a dark jacket. His hair is shaved short around the sides and back, while the top is dark blue and longer, sweeping over his face. He has his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankle and his arms across the back of the bench on either side. Conversely, the girl at his side is smaller, sitting with her legs crossed on the bench. She's in bright clothes, a white jacket over a baggy red shirt that hangs down to her thighs easily. Her hair's done up in a pair of buns that do nothing to hide the bright pink and blue hue.

She's the one talking to the man, her voice low enough that Hitoshi can't pick it up over the rumble of the bus.

They don't look over once they're settled on the bus, though, which eases Hitoshi's mind a little. He pulls his phone back out to scroll and blog, wasting time while Izuku sleeps on his shoulder and against his side like a warm lump. It's weirdly comforting and Hitoshi keeps bouncing his leg in nervousness, wondering if it's really _okay_ to be sitting like this with Izuku. After all they're friends but they're not… more than that. And yet, here he sits, holding onto him, letting Izuku sleep on him, watching out for him…

Was this a typical friend thing? Hitoshi didn't have much experience with friendships outside of the few he'd had in middle school and those with his siblings. He knows for sure that he doesn't feel the same way towards Izuku as he does his siblings but…

He does care. Definitely does care. He cares more than 'just friends' too. And he doesn't really have anyone he can ask without getting really embarrassed.

So he does his best not to think about it.

Instead, he takes a selfie with the sleeping Izuku and, after about five minutes of back and forth thinking, he uploads it to the blog with the tags: Adventures in Love, look who sleeps with their mouth open, _he snores too, ate abt twenty plates himself nd is going to sleep it all off now, growing boy needs him some zzzs._

He immediately regrets posting it because his dash explodes with comments on how cute they are and endless questions asking him about his date. Huffing out a breath, he shoves his phone into his pocket and sit, staring at his knees.

Izuku stirs at his side about ten minutes later. Hitoshi looks up and his eyes lock with those green glowing ones. And they're definitely, one hundred percent glowing. There's no denying it. Not this close. Not in the back of the bus like this. Not when he can see the shine of them flickering only inches away.

"Your eyes," Hitoshi says without thinking about it. "They glow. Is that..?"

"A quirk?" Izuku asks, blinking slowly and then yawning. He shrugs, which feels strange under Hitoshi's arm, but he hasn't lifted his cheek up from Hitoshi's shoulder, so it's not like he can take it off. "Yeah."

"Oh." Hitoshi's curiosity gnaws at him. "Which … What does it do?"

Izuku watches him silently for a while, long enough that Hitoshi opens his mouth to apologize for asking. Izuku isn't smiling. He looks so serious it's a bit eerie. Hitoshi's sure that he's offended him, somehow.

"A couple of different things," Izuku says, cutting off Hitoshi's beginning of an apology. "You noticed the glowing eyes, didn't you?" He asks it like a question but it doesn't really sound like one. It sounds like Izuku knows what he saw and why he's asking.

"Yeah. But they don't always glow."

"Right," Izuku agrees, "It's a… an observation quirk, of sorts. My eyes catch information as I look around at things and then after enough information is gathered, they stop noticing so much and my brain processes it."

"The brain thing," Hitoshi says, making the connection to their conversation in front of the infirmary. "The quirk isn't just in your eyes but your brain, too?"

Izuku nods. His eye slide closed for a second or two and then when they open again, they're no longer glowing. "It's my primary quirk. The one that I was … born with. The one that makes me, me." He says that with a funny smile and a bit of a breathless laugh; his gaze slides down and away.

Even looking away, Hitoshi can clearly see Izuku's eyes. They're green and so, so bright. But this close he can see gold around the outer edges of the iris; little flecks of it that catch the light a little sharper than the green itself. And there are black flecks too, closer in towards the pupil, but not the pupil itself. That's still a regular round shape.

"They're pretty," Hitoshi says.

Izuku looks at him and smiles.

The bus comes to a stop, jerking them both forward as they were unprepared for it. Izuku blinks and looks around. "Oh!" He sits up, sliding out from under Hitoshi's arm. "This is my stop."

"It is?" Hitoshi says dumbly. He feels a lot colder as Izuku stands up. "Oh." He looks out the window but doesn't recognize where they are.

"Hey, Hitocchan?"

Hitoshi's head snaps back around to look up at Izuku. His friend smiles at him and leans down. He rests one hand on the cushion beside Hitoshi's head balancing himself as he ducks his head in and-

Warm lips brush against Hitoshi's cheek so close to his own that if he had just turned his head in the slightest way they would have touched. Hitoshi's heart jumps into his throat at the spark that he feels from Izuku's mouth on his skin. Izuku draws back slowly, saying, "Thanks for coming with me tonight. I appreciate it."

"Yeah," Hitoshi mumbled. "You're welcome."

Izuku hitches his bag higher on his shoulder and then turns away. He gets off the bus with a casual little wave, one that Hitoshi returns without thinking about it.

The doors close behind him and Hitoshi sits there, blinking, hand touching his own cheek for a long time. Eventually, he blinks and looks around, aware that he hadn't been alone, but none of the other passengers are looking at him.

It's another block before Hitoshi realizes that the two he noticed before, the man in the hoodie and the young woman in white, have also left the bus, though he can't remember seeing them go.

* * *

 **TBC**


	10. cornerstones

**Chapter Summary:** A foundation is laid with four cornerstones.

 _Villain!Izuku, canon-divergent_

 _(warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation, brainwashing)_

 _This was co-written by kattenprinsen and cross-posted from archive of our own._

* * *

 **Chapter Ten: misconception, mismanage, misdemeanor, misery**

* * *

Gran Torino's place looks about the same as the last time that Toshinori visited, which is to say that it's just a normal looking as can be. He sits on the couch, relaxed for the first time all day. No one is about to burst into the room like they might in the teacher's offices or anywhere else he happens to stop and catch his breath.

In his hand, he holds an old picture, worn around the edges and crinkled a few places where it's been folded. He runs his thumb lightly over the edge and then sighs, tossing it down onto the coffee table in front of him. Torino looks up from the tea he holds in his own hands, sitting across from him.

His gaze drops down to the picture and he gives a little frown. "That's the boy?"

"That's the picture his mother gave me when he went missing." Toshinori clarifies. He can still remember that afternoon, as clearly as if it had happened the day before. Midoriya Inko's tearful eyes, her tear streaked cheeks, her hands shaking as she clutched the picture of her son for All Might to have. Her voice shaking as she begged All Might to do _something_ for her son. Anything at all.

In the image, the twelve-year-old boy is grinning up at the camera. He wears an All Might shirt- one that Toshinori can tell is one of the limited runs from earlier that same year. There were only a couple thousand printed in the city and this boy had gotten one. Inko had believed so fiercely that All Might could find her son.

He had tried- he really had tried- but no one had seen anything. No one was talking- no villains that were caught, no undercover heroes, _no one._

Then he'd been found in the arms of that weird creature, held hostage, presumably to agitate Bakugou- Because it was unlikely that many villains, if any, knew his own interest in the boy's well-being. Which, considering the way Bakugou and Midoriya had interacted since then, led to more questions than answers.

"The one that was in the clutches of that villain alliance."

Toshinori nodded. "He described being in the captivity of someone remarkably like All For One, Torino," Toshinori said with exhaustion in his voice. "And it's not like this isn't the first time that man has worked behind the scenes in order to attack me. He _knows_ I'm the last. He knows I haven't chosen anyone."

"So what purpose did he serve for that man?" Torino asked. "That's what you've been trying to figure out?"

"As far as I can tell," Toshinori said, "He was used as subject to experiment on. He said that the man with the hands on his face brought him along to the fight, but Midoriya didn't realize that Bakugou would be there at the same time." He sighed and rubbed his face with one hand. "Yet he knew that I was supposed to be there. He said that they were there to attack and kill me."

Torino set his cup down on the table. He shook his head slowly. "This isn't good. You need to find a successor to train, Toshinori. You can't keep putting this off." He paused and then asked a little quieter, "Or do you intend to be the last bearer?"

Toshinori closed his eyes. He propped his chin up on his hand and sighed, long and slow. "As long as All For One is out there I have to keep going. One For All has to keep going. His focus is all on me, and I can't let him look away. If I was gone he'd be free to do anything he liked and I can't let that happen."

"I understand," Torino murmured.

He didn't say it, but Toshinori doubted Torino really understood. Being the focus of someone as determined, intelligent and amoral as All For One was a weight that he bore on his shoulders alone. All For One had taken his own mentor from him and Toshinori could feel it in his bones that he, too, would fall to that man's onslaught eventually. His body was already wearing down. The injuries he'd taken over the years were making it harder and harder to take his muscle form and be a hero.

He'd joined Yuuei two years ago in an effort to find a student that would be able to handle all that One For All was: the strength, the wear and tear on the body, a symbol of peace and justice, and a target for arrogant villains and competitive heroes alike. Throw the possibility of death at the hands of the near immortal All For One user, and it was no wonder that Toshinori hadn't been able to pick a single student to succeed him.

Toshinori's gaze fell to the picture on the table. Bright green eyes and an optimistic smile. He had that same look even now- Toshinori had seen it on the boy's face, though only in passing as he was not one of the boy's main teachers. Five years as a lab rat and what was his greatest desire?

 _"I just want to be a hero and save people like me. I want to save people who are lost like I was!"_

He wanted to save the lost. And with a smile like that, with such a burning personality… Midoriya could do it. He could be a light in the darkness.

And what a darkness it would be. The whisperings of a League of Villains, of some alliance being formed in the underground, of some powerful and charismatic leader gathering forces together, to follow his rules- Those rumors were coming true. All Might was off the main fighting circuit, but it was bad enough that word had spread to the professional heroes that worked as teachers in Yuuei. There was something out there. Something coordinating villains. Something that was tearing up parts of the city, taunting heroes with senseless messages.

Toshinori picked up the photo and considered it again. "Did you know…" he started, speaking slowly, thinking over his words as he did so, "Midoriya has a minor regeneration quirk? Nothing strong enough to heal him instantly, but over time his bones set and heal and his muscle knit back together. He spoke of some of the tests done to him- ones including having him falling from a great height- and he was able to regenerate to full health."

He glanced up and saw Torino looking at him with his lips pressed into a thin line. The old man reached out and picked up his drink again. Then he held out his other hand, "Let me see him."

Toshinori handed it over. "He has… many quirks already. In fact, it seems he has a strength quirk already in use. One For All wouldn't break him apart like it would any of the others."

"Those quirks were forced on him," Torino said. "He was an experiment. He certainly isn't stable enough for this."

"He's been medically examined. Both physically and psychologically. He still is meeting with a therapist," Toshinori said, "Despite his years away and a little bit of awkwardness, Midoriya displays an incredible amount of goodwill and cheer. He wants to be a hero. He wants to be a light for those that are lost."

"So you mentioned," Torino said, "That is why you supported his enrollment into Yuuei if I recall correctly." He tossed the photo back onto the table where it slid to the center. "Do you really think he can handle the responsibility of One For All? Are you sure of his allegiance to the greater good?"

"I'm sure that he is trying his best," Toshinori said. He made a fist with one hand, resting it on his knee. "He is anxious to be a hero. He wants to heal and move on from that trauma."

"Don't rush into anything, Toshinori," Torino warned. He eyed Toshinori over his cup as he sipped. "You can only pass it on once. It must be to the right person to carry your legacy."

"He can do it." Toshinori insisted. But he quickly acquiesced under Torino's hard stare. "But I won't give it to him right away. I won't talk to him about it yet, either. The Sport Festival is approaching quickly. I can use that time to see if he can handle this quirk and the responsibility of it." Torino's look didn't let up. Toshinori frowned and looked off to the side.

"There isn't much else I can do, is there? The strongest students in my class are either too volatile, too brittle or can't handle the strain of One For All. Midoriya would be able to adjust the quickest. He can break his body and it will heal. He was captive for five years and his spirit wasn't broken. He still smiles like he did in that photo, Torino, and that tells me enough."

"Wait until after the Festival to decide," Torino said, "The boy might have some surprises up his sleeve still."

Toshinori kept frowning, but he nodded in agreement. Midoriya was a little troubling in some ways, so of course, he'd be paying close attention to the boy. Still…

He looked at the photo. That twelve-year-old boy beamed up, ignorant of the pain and fear his older self must have gone through.

If Midoriya could smile like that, even after all he was put through… He certainly could be one to follow in Nana's footsteps. Toshinori was certain about that.

* * *

The hospital room that Shouto's mother stayed in was well lit and warm from the sunlight from the window. The walls were painted a soothing lavender color that went well with a landscape painting hanging across from his mother's bed. She looked up from the book in her hands when Shouto stepped in. He smiled at her. The smile she gave in response was such a fragile, small thing.

"Hello Mother," He walked in and up to her. She sat at the little desk that had been provided for her. Shouto sat at the end of the bed, hands in his lap. "How have you been?"

"Shouto," she greeted, turning towards him. She immediately closed her book and set it aside. Shouto tried not to frown at the sight- she hadn't saved her place in any way. He worried that she hadn't even been reading it, had just been staring down at the pages as she sometimes did. "There you are. I've missed you. It's been so quiet here lately…"

"Well I have some new stories about school to tell you if you want to listen," Shouto said. She smiled and got up from her seat, crossing the small distance to sit beside him. Shouto tensed for a moment but then reached out and put his hand over hers.

"Of course I do. I love your school stories so much." She held his hand in both of hers, squeezing it tightly.

"Well," Shouto said, "We had a mock battle on Friday," his eyes drifted away a bit from her face as he remembered the fight. He recounted the first fight quickly- fighting Team B hadn't been all that exciting, really. Witnessing the second fight that morning had been, though. He'd never seen Bakugou go down so quickly before in his life.

He skipped over what happened to Monoma, though. Shouto didn't want to upset his mother with the fate of the teenager. When he started talking about his fight with Midoriya, though, his mother's grip grew tight on his hand.

Shouto paused after describing the crazy castle that had been made to look at his mother's face. She was a little pale, her eyes a little wide.

"Go on," she said to Shouto, her voice insistent, even a little eager, "Please go on."

Shouto nodded. He stroked the back of her hand as he spoke. He carefully danced around the fact that he had used his flame quirk- it was uncontrolled, it was all Endeavor and his mother didn't need to hear about that. Instead, he explained Midoriya's ice; how he had formed spikes on his knuckles, how he'd conjured daggers with such skill.

"I wish I could do the same, Mom," Shouto said, holding up his right hand. "I don't have the same control as him. I could do this," he formed a small spike of ice. His mother crowed in delight at the sight of it, letting go of his other hand to run gentle fingers along the edge of the ice. "But I can't make the daggers he made. They looked like real knives, too. I could pick them up and throw them back at him."

"Like real knives?" His mother repeated back at him.

"Yeah. And then uh… there was this bit I was unconscious for, but when I came to I was in the ice castle. And, Mom, I wish you could have seen it. It looked like it was laid with icy brick, not just formed all at once. And the tops of the spires looked like an actual rooftop." Shouto explained with a little buzz of excitement. There was color rising in his mother's face, her cheeks flushed more than he'd seen in months. There was a spark of something in her pale eyes, too.

"He created this slide to get down from the castle safely," Shouto said. "It looked like it was made out of crystal. The railings had all these intricate loops and swirls to it. They looked like vines made out of ice."

"Vines?" She repeated him again.

"Yeah," Shouto nodded. "They were so incredibly delicate looking. Mother, I wish I could do that, I wish I could show you. I had no idea an ice quirk could be so… Mom?"

Her wide eyes were glazed over. Her fingers curled around the spike he'd created out of ice. "...do that…" She whispered, her breath so faint he missed half the words.

"What?" He asked. He gently put his hand over hers. All his instincts told him he needed to get that back _now._

 _"I could do that."_ She said, her voice suddenly sharp. She moved her hands, trying to shake off his grip. "I could do that with my ice."

"Mom-"

"That's my quirk!" She shouted. "That's _mine!"_

Shouto flinched back, his hands pulling off of her. Now he recognized her expression, wild and haunted around the edges, as the one from his childhood. He froze, staring at her, unable to speak or move.

"I was able to do that! Me!" Her voice rose even higher, "No one else could control their ice that well! I was a prodigy! And they took it from me! They took my ice! Give it back. I want my quirk back!" Her hands lifted up, the spike glistening in them. The heat of her skin was beginning to melt it, making it slip.

Shouto stared up at it, throat tight, mouth dry. He was a child again. He was in his kitchen again. There was his mother over him, capable of anything, capable of ending his life as she had given birth to it. Fear pinned him to the bed.

The door to the room burst open. Shouto heard it only distantly. His mother's screaming filled his ears. Her quirk had been _stolen._ She wanted it _back._ It was _her_ quirk. There was someone whose hands were strong as they gripped him by the shoulder and pulled him away from the bed. He saw but didn't see orderlies calming his mother down, restraining her, taking the ice from her grip. She screamed and fought them before they were able to bind her wrists together.

Once she could no longer freely move, Shouto's mother sagged to the side and began to sob.

Shouto watched, wide eyed, breathing shallowly. Someone came over to him, careful and cautious and asked him if he was okay. He nodded his head, swallowing with difficulty. "I didn't know," he said.

"What was that?" The orderly asked.

"I didn't know she as quirkless," Shouto said, looking at his mother in horror and sorrow. "I had no idea."

"Ah," they said to him. "Well… Your mother is a bit of an unusual case. Her quirk faded away a year or two ago. She's not been… quite the same since. We were asked by your father not to say anything to anyone- not even her children. But considering you just saw this…"

Shouto stared as his mother curled up on the bed, sobbing, his mind blank because of the shock. He couldn't speak. There was nothing he could think of to say. His mother was quirkless and he… he was still scared of her hurting him anyway.

* * *

It's nearly seven at night, but Izuku isn't alone as he strolls through the park with his phone out. He has an earbud in one ear to play the cheerful background music of his app and he's half paying attention to the screen and half looking around for a familiar face. There are over a dozen other twenty-somethings out in pairs or small groups. Most of them have their phones out as well.

One, passing by, stops and turns, "Hey, did you see the ponyta down by the fountain?"

"Yeah," Izuku said, "There's a horsea down by the pond if you're looking for that."

"Thanks, man," the guy says before trotting off, phone in hand. Izuku smiles and continues down the path.

There's a good turn out that night. The weather is warm and the sun is taking its sweet time in descending. Izuku is in casual clothes, with the addition of heavy duty gloves (with a pad on the finger so he can still use the screen of his phone) and his goggles hang loosely around his throat. He's not in any of his child forms, not the eight-year-old his mother prefers or the fourteen-year-old that he uses to visit people at the bar with. He's not seventeen, either, because even a high school student alone might catch someone's attention.

No, Izuku's aged himself up to the stable age of twenty-three. The weight of his true form settles a little easier with this build. His broad shoulders and heavily muscled arms and legs are hidden under an All Might hoodie and baggy pants. His face doesn't change much, never really does, making him look younger and wide-eyed with innocence. This form is, perhaps, his favorite of the handful or so that he works with because of the ease with which he can move through the city. No one looks twice at an adult- and with the undercut to his hair, the height of his body and the confidence of his movements, Izuku is nothing but an adult.

As he rounds the fountain, eyes on his phone, he hears a familiar voice calling out to him.

"Mint-niichan!"

Izuku looks up, grinning, just as Kagaya takes a running tackle into the center of his chest. Izuku staggered back, catching her with one hand and spinning to diffuse the momentum. Her wiry arms are slung around his neck and she laughs brightly. "Mint-niichan, I missed you! Gomi-nii has missed you too!"

Izuku rolled his eyes. "I saw you, like, two days ago." Kagaya wrapped her legs around his waist, leaning back and grinning up at him. Her golden eyes are alight with mischief. "I saw _both_ of you two days ago." He easily supports her with one arm.

"But that was a boring meeting, and short! And we didn't get to hang out at all!" Kagaya complained, locking her ankles together behind his back. "By the way, did you catch the vulpix out by the gazebo? Choco-chan is there right now."

"Yeah I caught it. Is he still working on his ninetails evolution?" Izuku asked, turning to face the way he was before and walking again. It was nearing the half-hour mark and they still weren't at their meeting spot.

"Yup." She unwound her arms from around Izuku to pull out her phone and pop open the app. "What should I name mine? I haven't named it yet. What did you name yours?"

"Haruka," Izuku said immediately. "She had that kind of vibe to her."

"Hmmmm," Kagaya's head tilted from side to side, making her braided pigtails swing along with the movement. Izuku's gaze caught on them, noticing that the dye was fading somewhat. She must not have been able to refresh it while she was out of town, he figured. Either that or she'd been too busy to do so. "Sacchan." She said, fingers tapping the screen. "That's a good name for a vulpix."

"Sounds good to me," Izuku said, leading up a stone path. The farther he walked, the fewer people were around them. "How _are_ you doing?" He ducked them both under a low hanging branch and took the moment to look more closely at her face. The other night, after the bus ride, he hadn't had much time to spend talking to Kagaya or check up on her.

Her golden eyes still had that brilliant, cunning light to them and her makeup was as impeccable and unique as usual. On her right cheek is a painted black spade; mirroring it on the left is a pink heart. She looks like she's gotten enough sleep recently, as there's no makeup being used to cover shadows under her eyes. When Izuku shifts her body against his, he estimates her weight and decides she's probably been getting enough to eat too.

She waved her hand at him, the other scrolling through her pokemon or something. "I'm _fine,_ Mint-nii. Gomi-nii and I both were on the last trip together. I didn't have to stay behind with Choco-chan or Bakaboss."

Izuku chuckled. "Well, I'm glad he could take you with him. I worry when you two are separated."

Kagaya eyes him for a moment before huffing and returning to her phone. Quietly, she said, "I don't like it when my niisan is gone. Either one of them."

Wincing, Izuku held her a little tighter. Kagaya frowned but propped her chin on his shoulder in response, looking down over his back at her phone. "Sorry," he murmured. "But don't you like getting to see your little brother?"

Kagaya elbowed him in the ribs, though not as sharply as she could have, Izuku knew, and grumbled, "Duh," at him. "My lil' brother is the cutest." Izuku could hear the grin in her voice as she added, "Choco-chan agrees~"

Izuku laughed. He came to a stop by a cherry tree, the one that had a green ribbon fluttering from a branch just above their heads. Kagaya looked up and sighed. She unhooked her legs and slipped down. Izuku put away his phone, taking out the earbud so he was more aware of his situation. Kagaya used him as support still, leaning against him as though he were as solid as a tree.

He looked over at the rustling of some grass and smiled at the familiar face that appeared. Dabi looked up from his phone and smiled back. Then he blinked, looked Izuku over from head to toe and smiled wider. "Hey," he said, "Haven't seen you like this in a while. You look good."

Kagaya snickered softly from Izuku's other side. Izuku ignored her, though Dabi gave her an annoyed look. "Thanks. It's nice to stretch out a little. How have things been?"

"Eh. The most exciting thing was that call the boss got a few days ago." Dabi shrugged with a shoulder. He came walking over, phone in hand. "I've been all over the city this week but still haven't hatched my 10-k egg. I think it might be bugged out again. Other than that, it's been pretty dull." Once at Izuku's side, he showed the screen of his phone, "Caught a vulpix earlier, and a ponyta. I heard there was a psyduck around, but I didn't see it."

"That was a rumor," Kagaya said with a sigh. "Someone started it because there were ducks in the pond and there are never ducks in the pond."

"What? That fucking sucks," Dabi groaned. "I spent twenty minutes hunting that thing." He scratched at the back of his head. "How has your hunting gone, Boss?"

"Eh, school is really fucking with my hours," Izuku complained. "But I think Hitoshi and I are going to go hunting together next week sometime. There's a project we have to work on with a classmate so we're going to use that as an excuse to wander around town collecting pokemon."

"Mint-nii is going on _another_ date?" Kagaya grinned up at him. "You just went on one the other night!"

"That wasn't a date," Izuku said. It didn't dim Kagaya's grin any, though. "I just needed to regain lost calories and thought it would be nice to spend time with Hitoshi."

"Yeah?" Dabi asked, "Where did you take him?"

"Ah," Izuku cleared his throat.

Kagaya's grin broadened to show all her teeth. "Mint-nii took his date to All Might Central. Himichan saw him there." She leaned in, prodding Izuku in the side with a finger. "Gomi-nii and I saw you there too. He was eating out of your dishes and sharing your milkshake straw and _everything."_

"Oh shiiit," Dabi said, eyebrows rising, "That sounds like a date to me, Boss."

"It wasn't a date," Izuku felt his cheeks heating up. "Hitoshi is my friend. Right now, we're just friends."

 _"Right now,"_ Kagaya repeated back as a taunt. "You totally kissed him on the bus. We saw it happen. Didn't you check his blog? He totally posted about the kiss!"

Izuku elbowed her back, but she nimbly ducked out of the way, giggling now. "It was only a little peck on the cheek."

"A kiss from Boss is still a kiss," Dabi said with a shrug. "Don't you _want_ to start dating this guy? Why don't you start already?" He frowned, looking at Izuku. "Does he not want to date you? Is it because you were kidnapped? Does he think you're a bad dude?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that," Izuku shook his head. "I just don't want to rush him into anything. It's a bit like…" he ran a hand through his hair and down to the back of his neck, scratching at it idly. "It's a bit like when I met you guys. I didn't ask you right away to help me, did I? Even though I thought that eventually, we'd work really well together and that you could understand what I was trying to do, I didn't start off that strong.

"It's kind of like that with Hitoshi. I feel like we could be really good together but I don't want to come on too strong. Maybe he likes me back, but maybe he's just a little overwhelmed by having me as a friend so suddenly." Izuku sighed. His interactions with Hitoshi weren't always as clear cut, considering the varying interests and desires he had of the teen. On the one hand, Izuku certainly had a romantic interest. On the other… Well. Hitoshi's quirk was just a bit too powerful, wasn't it?

"Ohh, the slow burn," Dabi said, "That's what Himiko would call this."

"It's not _that_ slow," Kagaya said.

"It's the exact speed that Hitoshi needs it to be," Izuku said firmly, hoping to end that topic. His timing turned out to be perfect, as at that moment the fourth and final member of their group arrived.

Chizome came up the path, his long legs carrying him swiftly down the stepping stones. Izuku saw him first, but Kagaya saw him second. She let out a screech and hurled herself forward to tackle him. Chizome caught her with one arm around the waist but she still got hers around his neck, squeezing a hug so tight that Izuku winced in sympathy.

"Bakaboss! You're still alive! And not in jail!" Kagaya giggled, kicking her legs idly as she hung in the air.

"And you are the same little monster as usual," Chizome said with amusement. He pulled her off by the back of her shirt, and fortunately, she let him do so. He set her down and then looked up to the other two. "The two of you ready to get on with this?"

"You don't sound all that excited," Izuku teased lightly. "Isn't this what you've been building up to all week?"

Chizome crossed the distance between them quickly. Izuku blinked up at him- there were few that had inches on him when he was his adult self and Chizome was one of them. The man roughly rubbed the top of Izuku's head. "You little brat, you're still in a tenuous place, aren't you? That was a hell of a scare you had Friday."

"It was just a scare. I'm fine now." Izuku gave him a smile. "I haven't had any trouble since then."

"Not even with the witness?"

"No. Actually, he defended me when I wasn't there. Hitoshi Informed me." Izuku said looking away guiltily. His Inform quirk wasn't very invasive, as far as verbal compelling quirks went, but it was still a compulsion quirk. It was one he only used to get quick explanations from people already willing to divulge to him.

"Ah," Chizome said. He lifted his hand and tucked it under Izuku's chin, making him have to look up again. "Your cover is good then, Arbiter?"

Izuku snorted and brushed Chizome's hand away from his face. "Of course it is, Bloodstain." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dabi straighten up at their use of each other's code names. "I wouldn't be working it still if it was blown."

"Even a little suspicion isn't good for you. They know you have some association with the likes of us," Chizome said, "They watch you too closely and they'll know more about you than you think they do."

"Pocky is keeping an eye on some of that," Kagaya said from behind him.

Izuku nodded, though. His lips were pressed into a firm line, his brows lowered to mimic Chizome's serious expression. "I understand. I'll keep my head down better in the future."

Chizome watched him for a moment, silent and calculating, then he too nodded slightly. "There is more attached to your cause than just your own name and skill, Arbiter. Don't throw away your best chance for a little romance or fun. Those things are secondary to your cause, are they not?"

Izuku's jaw tightened. "They are."

He got another nod for his admission. Then Chizome glanced to Dabi. "Don't encourage Arbiter to go astray."

"Yes sir," Dabi said immediately. "I apologize."

Chizome waved that away with a hand. He turned to look at Kagaya. She stood with her hands on her hips, a cocky grin on her face and a devilish look in her eye. "What," she said, "Are you gonna try and boss me around _too,_ Bloodstain?"

"God knows what kind of shitshow that would be, Eris," Chizome said, calling her by her code name as well.

She laughed.

"It's time to go," Izuku said, flicking his gaze up towards the sky. He checked the angle of the sun, the light of the horizon, the oncoming darkness and gave a wicked smile. "Flames will do nicely tonight."

"How do you want to divide it?" Chizome asked. "Singles or pairs?"

"Pairs," Izuku said. "Dabi and Eris together, you and I together." He flicked his gaze over the group, "Complaints?"

"I agree but only if I get to sit in the booth next to you when we're done," Kagaya said, beginning to stretch. Her arms went over her head, her back arched and she rocked up to her tip-toes. There was the faint crack of her bone as she moved fluidly from one stretch to the next.

"Agreed," Izuku said. He glanced to Dabi, who shrugged.

"I know better than to get in the way of your planning time, Boss." He sighed and rolled his shoulders, stretching them out a little as well. "What point count are we going for?"

"No more than two hundred, at a hundred a pair," Chizome said. "We've taken a couple dozen points here and there all week. This is the largest one, though, so it's more about overall property damage and a wide range of destruction to catch attention."

"We're working from the outside in," Izuku continued, "The final scene should be right outside the agency. It'll be tight if we don't keep them at bay around the edges, but if we manage it, I'll have plenty of time to leave a message to the number two."

"You two go north and then east. Arbiter and I will go south and then east. Avoid capture. Avoid being seen if you can. Move quick and keep going until you see the signal to scatter." Chizome instructed. He glanced to Kagaya who had perked up at his mentioning a signal. "And yes, it's the usual one."

"When we're done," Izuku said with a smile, "Reconvene at AM-Central. My treat." Chizome pushed at his shoulder gently at that, but Izuku just kept grinning. "What? It's been a while since we could really sit and talk. I'll have some time to spare after this, I'm sure."

Kagaya whipped out her phone, "I'll tell Niisan to meet us there! It'll be a party!"

Chizome shook his head, sighing in exasperation. "If you have no more questions…?"

"We're good," Dabi said with a nod. "We'll see you soon." He looked intently at Izuku. "Be careful with your flames."

"Be careful with yours," Izuku replied. He pulled his goggles up from around his neck and slid them properly into place. The world was tinted and darker for a moment before his eyes quickly adjusted and the brightness no longer was an issue.

Kagaya skipped over and slipped her arms around Izuku one more time in a tight hug. "Careful, Mint-nii," she whispered, "Remember you promised me dinner!" Izuku put an arm around her, hugging her tight to his side and he smiled at her.

"I'll be there. I always keep my promises."

She nodded and ducked away again. Dabi lifted a hand in a wave, gave Izuku one last long look and then followed her out through the bushes. This left Izuku alone with Chizome.

For a second they looked at each other in silence. Izuku grinned first, wide and vicious as he flexed under his loose clothes, adding extra bulk with hardly a thought. Chizome's grin was just as broad and he gave an open-mouthed grin. "Shall we race? Our first destination is only a few blocks from here."

"Sure," Izuku agreed readily. He flexed his hands, making fists and shaking them out a little. Looking up, he met Chizome's gaze and flashed another quick grin. The next second they were tearing out of the park, headed southward. Once they broke away from the green grass of the park, the weapons came out.

Chizome's sword flashed in the light of Izuku's burning fist of fire. They were neck and neck as they ran, fleet-footed despite their heavy boots. There was only minor damage done to their surroundings as they ran- Chizome took a corner too hard, knocking into Izuku, who hit the side of a car with enough force to leave the impression of his side in the door. He kicked away from it, laughing, fire trailing from his hands and sending people screaming away from them.

Izuku hit their destination first, running fast enough that when he skidded to a stop he went face first into the wall. Chizome had to slow up sooner but arrived only a second or two after Izuku. He chuckled under his breath, caught hold of Izuku's hood and pulled him free of the wall.

Izuku shook the dust from his hair and grinned. "I won."

"You're being idiotic." Chizome gestured to the wall which had caved in somewhat around the impact. "Look at this. Someone is going to have to take care of this."

"You're right," Izuku laughed. "But to fix it… the rest of it probably needs to go." He looked up the two story building and flared the fire in his hands a little hotter, though not much bigger. "Think I can bring it down in the time it takes you to get, what, fifteen points?"

"Fifteen?" Chizome scoffed, "I can get thirty, easily."

Izuku lifted a fist, readying a punch. "Prove it." He taunted and then slammed his fist into the brick, creating a hole through force and heat. He heard the crunching step of Chizome's boot as he took off around to the front of the building. Izuku grinned wildly as he let fire rise up his limbs and consume him. His clothes didn't burn, this time, but his hair lit up like a wick, burning much like that number two hero, Endeavor. Except, instead of a red and orange natural flame, Izuku's was blue and white and hot enough to melt the metal of the first appliance he came across in that small back room.

With a dark chuckle, Izuku set to work with flames and fists. This was only the first of several buildings that they were going to tear apart and if he really did want to meet up at the diner and get some dinner, he was going to have to hurry up.

* * *

It was full dark by the time Endeavor made it back to his offices. He had caught sight of only one of the multiple assailants- and it was a different one than he'd seen earlier that week. Rage burned in through him, almost as deeply as the exhaustion that made him sluggish.

It had been a week of this- chasing the after image of villains tearing through his section of the city with fire and destruction. They were quick, whoever they were. He'd seen one for a second, on the other side of a shattered window and a wall of his own flames (ones that he'd sent up to try and capture the bastard) and that wide grin and the flash of gold from the giant M on his hoodie made Endeavor's blood boil in his veins.

He didn't even make it into the building before he was accosted by an underling. The woman was breathless as she caught up with him, "Endeavor, sir," she said, "The villains. They left another message."

"They did?" He rounded on her, "Where? What is it?"

She pointed across the street. "On the side of that building, there."

"Take me to it. How did they get so close to the agency without getting caught?" Endeavor asked her, the flame on his head roaring up with his voice. "Where _was_ everyone?"

"Out, sir," She said, her voice shaking only a little bit. She had been around enough to not be quite as afraid of him as some of the newer heroes he had working for him. "There's been damage all over. Buildings falling, cars exploding, people walking off of rooftops, it's been crazy, sir." She led him across the street to the building she'd mentioned before. "Some of us only just returned, like you, sir."

Endeavor scoffed in anger. He'd called in everyone today, scheduled or not, once that first building had gone down. There had been a build-up all week- taunting messages, numbers counting down to today- but he hadn't been sure _when_ they would strike.

And yet, they still hadn't managed to catch any of the villains. He wouldn't even know for sure how many were involved in this until he'd heard everyone's reports.

"Here," she said, gesturing up. "That's what was left behind."

Along the side of the wall were five words, each one a meter tall at least and they were made of solid ice. As he stood there, looking at them, fear crept into Endeavor's heart for the first time in years.

 _Dead Wives Tell No Tales._

* * *

 **TBC**

Notes:

* * *

 **the Inform Quirk:**  
This quirk requires the victim of it to be willing to give information to the user. The user has either a few particular questions or a specific scene in which they want to know the exact details as much as possible. The use of this quirk makes the victim recount, word for word, to the best of their ability, their memories. The quirk lasts only a few minutes and ceases to work if the victim, at any point, becomes unwilling to provide information.


	11. footsteps

**Chapter Summary:** A considering eye. Testing the variables. Unwanted attention

 _Villain!Izuku, canon-divergent_

 _(warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation, brainwashing)_

 _This was co-written by kattenprinsen and cross-posted from archive of our own._

Notes:

katten: hey funfactoid, izuku uses 父上/chichiue/"honorable father" to address sensei making it Super Formal

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven: footsteps in the dark**

* * *

All Might Central was a twenty-four-hour diner. It had to be, considering a large portion of its customers were vigilantes or outright villains, all people with unconventional working schedules. Some of the busiest hours of operation were after ten at night when the stars were out, the moon was high, and people were looking for a safe place in off the streets to duck out of sight of the cops and get a bite to eat.

Even though there were many who lingered around their meal the place never _quite_ filled up. There was always available space at the diner, no matter if your party was two or seven or thirteen.

As it neared midnight, the height of night activity, Izuku and Chizome entered the restaurant, a little charred around the edges and smelling faintly like smoke.

In his adult form, Izuku was instantly recognized by the hostess. Jackie grinned at him, putting her fists on her hips. "Well hello there! Is it just the two'a you boys today?"

"Actually, there should be a party of three waiting for us. They're probably under Freecs?" Izuku replied, smiling back.

Jackie tossed her copper colored hair over a shoulder. "Ohh, right. Y'all follow me then! Shirogiri went and put them in one of the back rooms." She tucked a pair of menus under her arm and gestured for them to follow.

Jackie wasn't the only one who recognized Izuku, or Chizome, as they made their way through the restaurant. They got shouted greetings from a scattering of tables, usually something simple like "yo, boss!" or even more casual like a "my dude!". Izuku grinned and waved back, but didn't stop to chat. Chizome rolled his eyes and kept ushering Izuku along, clearly eager to get to their destination.

The door Jackie led them too had a little wheel with colored wedges on it. She spun it until it pointed to green and then pulled a lever. All the while she spoke, "It's been quite a while since I seen y'all come 'round here! Y'all must've been pretty busy to miss your regular hours. I know Shiro's had an easier time back in the kitchen with Choi since ya been out, but all our regulars miss your shining face, boss!" She stepped aside as the door slid open to reveal a room beyond.

"I'm sorry, Jacks," Izuku said apologetically to her, "I promise to come around whenever I can. I'm just busy with all sorts of things these days."

"If everything is going well for you, can we really ask for anything else outta life?" Jackie asked rhetorically, nodding to herself. She gestured towards the doorway. "Anyway, here are your friends. Ya know how to order in one of these backrooms, right?"

Izuku nodded. Chizome cleared his throat and the young man stepped back so he could go through ahead of him. Izuku rolled his eyes at Chizome's back and then leaned towards Jackie, putting his hand up by his mouth to whisper to her, "Gomiko's been out of town for a little while. Kagaya wasn't the only one to miss him."

Jackie laughed and waved him off, "Ya better go play peacemaker then! Lord knows how that girl gets when her brother's been off for a while! I don't know how he manages to get any personal time with Akaguro, if you know what I mean!"

Izuku snickered, "They're very determined." Jackie laughed again and Izuku left her by the door.

A single circular table sat in the center of the room. At the far side of it, across from the door, sat Gomiko. He was in the process of standing to greet Chizome in a very friendly manner. On Gomiko's left perched Kagaya. Her hair was down now, with a bit of it falling into her face and the rest pinned back with a row of glittering gold star clips. Gomiko's right side was open, and that was where Chizome sat after greeting his boyfriend.

Dabi lounged in his own chair, pushed back from the table with his legs stretched out. He was the one sitting left of Kagaya, leaving an open seat between himself and Chizome for Izuku. He settled down in it with a sigh, slouching a little so that he and Dabi matched.

He got a crooked grin for his trouble, "You okay, boss?" Dabi asked, "You got a lot of ash in your hair."

"Mm? Yeah, I'm fine." Izuku said, flipping open the menu and scanning the items. His stomach was growling already and he was feeling sluggish. It was definitely time to give some energy to his body. "It ended up being me that Endeavour chased around the city blocks. The guy is a _bit_ of a loose cannon with his fire when he's all worked up."

There was a soft tapping on the table. Izuku glanced up to see Gomiko drumming his fingers across the polished surface. He lifted his gaze up to meet the man's eyes. "Not at the dinner table," Gomiko said, his tone as solid as stone. "You two can speak about that later."

Izuku held his gaze for a moment but Gomiko was unflinching. So he gave a little smile and apologized. "Sorry. It was just habit." He folded up his menu and pushed it away from himself, "I'm ready to order."

"So am I," Chizome said, tossing his menu forward to join Izuku's. He leaned back in his chair, putting his arm across the back of Gomiko's. "The rest of you?"

"We have already," Gomiko said as he reached to the center of the table where there was a small white dome. He tapped it and it lit up. A holographic display popped up of their waitress, who bowed and asked for the additional orders.

Chizome gave his first, as it was only a single dish, and then Izuku gave an order of several. When they were finished, Gomiko thanked the holographic woman and tapped the light again to dismiss the figure.

Kagaya, elbows resting on the table, chin in her hands, looked across at Izuku. A slow, broad grin spread over her face. "So, Mint-nii," she asked with a glint in her eye, "Are you gonna spill the details of your training matches at school last week or do I have to pull out Pocky's video and show everyone for you?"

"Pocky got video?" Izuku groaned. "What are they doing in Yuuei's systems?"

"You're in Yuuei." Kagaya said, "And you're interesting to Pocky-chan. So, of _course_ they're gonna record it! We can't be there so this is all we have!"

Dabi perked up, "You have the video with you?"

Kagaya grinned, reaching for her pocket. Izuku put up his hands, "Fine, _fine._ I'll explain it all, _again."_ He glared at Kagaya, "There's no need for video."

Kagaya settled her chin in her hands again. "Go ahead and tell us the story of how you ended up kissing-"

"Ah ah!" Izuku interrupted. "No spoilers!"

Chizome and Gomiko exchanged a look. Turning back, Chizome said, "You didn't mention a kiss on the phone, earlier."

"It happened afterwards," Izuku explained, "Honestly, all of you are far to interested in who I kiss. Stop it." His glare around the table was ineffective though. Chizome just rolled his eyes and Dabi's apologetic look was entirely false. "Anyway, here's how it went…"

Once Izuku started the story, he got into telling it. Gesturing with his hands, repeating back conversations, miming out actions, he told the events of Friday with some gusto. The only part he skipped was his own trip to the infirmary, the phone call with Chizome and the sheer panic that had flooded him at the thought of having nearly ended Monoma's life.

As he told his story, the food was delivered via a series of white misty portals. They ate, asking questions, listening to him talk, and, as it ended, the conversation dissolved into a more natural state. Gomiko mentioned some of the sights he'd seen while out of the city. Dabi and Kagaya had a brief argument over a strategy game. Izuku and Chizome discussed weapon shops and knives.

During a discussion about couches (Gomiko's office needed a new one and Kagaya and Chizome had differing opinions on style) the door opened. Izuku looked up to see Jackie standing apologetically in the doorway. She twisted her hands together in front of herself and cleared her throat.

Conversation died down and Izuku asked, "Jacks?"

"Excuse the interruption," she said, looking straight at Izuku, "But Daichi-san is outside the restaurant asking for you, Boss."

A different kind of silence spread over the table. Everyone sat tense in their seat. Gomiko's gaze flicked to Izuku. His eyes were sharp as fragments of glass and Izuku forced himself not to wince under that judging gaze. "I thought you had left his service." Gomiko glanced to Dabi, "Was that not what you said? That _that_ man had let Izuku go?"

"He told Tomura to not go after Izuku," Dabi confirmed. His fingers were at his throat, nervously tracing over the metal staples that held his skin together. "That Izuku had his own plans going on."

"Are you going to go speak with him?" Chizome asked Izuku, his voice low, "Do you want company?"

"I can handle this," Izuku said, standing. He picked up a bowl and some chopsticks, finishing off the remnants of food in the bottom before he stepped away from the table. "I'll catch up with you all later."

He could feel their eyes on his back as he walked to the door. Izuku stepped out with Jacks. As the door shut behind them, she reached out and gripped his arm, "Isn't he the man who wants to kill All Might?"

"Don't worry, Jacks," Izuku said, putting his hand over hers. "I swear that no one will kill All Might, not while I'm alive."

She gave a tiny smile. Squeezing his arm a little tighter, she said, "Honey, you be careful okay? You let us know if you need anything to help you."

He nodded to her and slipped away. Navigating his way back through the restaurant, Izuku stepped out and back into the night.

* * *

Daichi waited for him, hat on his head, his long coat covering him down to his ankles, with his hands folded behind his back, underneath the pooling light of a streetlamp. The direct light overhead cast his face in shadow under the brim of his hat, but Izuku didn't need to see his face to recognize the man. There were some downsides to having a brain as hyper-aware and retentive as his.

He stopped a few feet in front of the man, hands buried deep in the pockets of his All Might hoodie. He gave Daichi a lopsided smile. "Is there a reason you've interrupted my dinner?"

"Your father has heard about the events of Friday afternoon," Daichi said plainly. "If you had come in yourself, this interruption would not be necessary." He paused and leaned forward slightly, "He gave you a full day to come in of your own free will."

"It would have been an unnecessary trip," Izuku said, still smiling.

Daichi looked at him, unimpressed. "It is not your choice. This is part of your agreement with your father. You will respect it."

Izuku grit his teeth for a moment and then forcibly relaxed his muscles. He shrugged. "Fine. I'll go now. It's not like I need to sleep for school or anything in the morning."

Daichi said nothing. He simply turned and led Izuku to a waiting car. The car sank a little as Izuku climbed into the back. Daichi got behind the wheel and began to drive.

The trip occurred in silence. Izuku watched as they drove through the city, busy with night life, into a warehouse district, where the only people out were guards over merchandise and the only light came from powerful floodlights. He leaned against the door, staring out the window, idly counting the lights they passed, predicting the turns out of memory until they arrived at the warehouse that passed as Father's laboratory.

Daichi drove the car into a small garage door, that opened automatically for him. The room inside was lit from above with blue fluorescents. Izuku didn't bother waiting for Daichi to open the door for him. He slipped out of the back of the car, rolling his neck and stretching out his back and shoulders idly.

The garage looked the way it had the last time he'd seen it- spotless and empty besides a series of four cars and, along the very far wall, a metal table with perfectly aligned tools. Daichi removed his hat and lead the way to a door in the side of the room. Beyond that door was a long hallway with more doorways. This too was well lit.

"He is waiting for you in the cerebral examination room," Daichi said as he hung his at and his coat up on the coat rack behind the door. There were two more hats and three more coats of exactly the same type already there. Daichi was, as far as Izuku knew, the only one who wore those items.

"Of course," Izuku said, smiling. He kept his hands to himself, even though he wanted to tap the wall and leave a sensory quirk active there. Bugging each other's bases was against the rules of his contract and if Izuku wanted his freedom, wanted the freedom to accomplish his goal, he had to play by the rules.

Even if they were disadvantageous. Even if he didn't particularly think they were necessary, either.

The Cerebral Examination Room was unsurprisingly steril in feeling and appearance. The largest thing in the room was the actual machine itself. A cousin of the MRI, this machine was one that Father had tweaked for his own personal use. After all, it was impossible to study a living brain without being able to see it- and no point in studying a dead brain when it was the living one that had the mysteries you needed to open.

Behind a separating glass wall, Father sat in a chair beside a computer. He breathed through his mask, slow and steady, and his eyeless face turned towards Izuku when he entered the main room. Izuku looked back at him for a moment before walking over to the chair. "I told Daichi and I'll tell you, Father, this is unnecessary. He didn't have a clear copy of it and they immediately healed the change in his brain."

"Allow me to be the judge of whether or not it's necessary, in this case," Father replied with wry amusement. His voice carried over the speaker with only the slightest of crackling. "I am an old man and I have not gotten this far by being careless."

Izuku sat back on the chair and folded his hands over his stomach. "I won't prevent you from wasting your resources. If you won't listen to me, you won't listen." He looked up at the machine. The smooth curve of plastic overhead was as familiar to him as the hard cushion of the chair he sat in. How many times had he sat here as that same mechanical arm descended, the machine humming, as it settled over his head?

"Too many to count," he muttered to himself as he forced his mind to think of something else to prevent it from calculating that number.

The machine's humming filled the air with white noise. The chair he sat on vibrated in sympathy as it lowered to cover his head entirely.

"We'll begin the test now," Father's voice said over the speaker inside the machine. It was familiar and soothing. Izuku relaxed a little farther, his breath deepening. "Start by thinking of your earliest memory overall."

Izuku pictured the forested park of his childhood clearly. The sun was warm and he was small, so small that the trees around him were tall as towers. There was a stick in one hand as he scratched designs in the dirt. He was waiting in the afternoon, waiting for his friend to appear so that they could play together. Kacchan was the one he waited for. Kacchan had said he had a surprise- a gift. It was almost Izuku's fourth birthday.

The memory was fuzzy, because of it's age and because of how many times it had transferred from mind to mind. Reviewing it was like looking through nearly-transparent frosted glass. He could see, he could hear, but the emotions of the memory had been stripped down to the singular feeling of _waiting._ The weaker emotions of the moment had long since faded.

Izuku breathed in and out, slowly. He refused to think about the details that had been lost.

"Now," Father's voice filtered in through his memory, a disembodied sound that guided his thoughts with ease, "Your first memory in this body."

The greenery of the forest drained away, melting and bleeding into another memory, though not as old as the first.

In his memory, Izuku woke to a room that was warm and smelled of electrical discharge. Something bright flashed and flickered in the corner of his vision, at first he thought it was lighting, but then his eyes adjusted and he saw it was a machine that looked as though it had burst from the inside out like a popped kernel of corn. Glass was scattered across the ground. Exposed wires crackled.

Izuku's gaze swung around. He moved his whole head to do it. His head was heavy. His neck thick. His body felt like stone. Stone that ached and throbbed in pain. A man stood in the center of the room, one hand pressed over an open cut on his arm. His lower face was covered with a mask. The top of his face was just skin- eyeless, hairless skin. Behind him was another man, approaching cautiously. He came to bandage the first man's arm.

"Tell me the color of his eyes," came a voice. Izuku recognized it, but, for some reason, it felt strange. As though he was used to hearing it in a different way.

"They are green, sir," was the reply. This voice sounded as it should. And immediately Izuku recognized the difference. He was used to hearing this voice with his ears. The previous voice he had heard without his ears before. "Green and glowing."

"Enough," Father's voice cut through the memory a second time. "Let it go, Izuku."

With a harsh breath out, Izuku cleared his thoughts. He opened his eyes, looking up at the plastic again. The machine hummed overhead, but while he'd been reliving his memories, the sound had faded into the background.

"Are you satisfied?" Izuku asked, lifting his voice loud enough that he was sure Father could hear. "I retained the memories. I'm still me."

Slowly, the machine lifted up again. Izuku rubbed his eyes and then dragged his hands through his hair. His brain always felt weird after that. Like sparkles had been dumped over his head and were now scratching up along under the membrane somehow. He scratched at his scalp. Izuku looked up to the glass window at Father.

There was no reading any facial expressions on the man. Instead Izuku noted the position of his shoulders and the tilt of his head. He wasn't pleased about something. Izuku frowned.

"Monoma's survival is not unprecedented," Father said. Izuku frowned even harder. He drew up his legs so he sat cross legged on the chair. "Whenever your Primary quirk is transferred one of two things occur. You are aware of this. I know that you are."

"Now it's one of three things," Izuku countered. "You never bothered to heal the brains of those who partially transferred. If you had the healing capabilities of Recovery Girl on hand, you could have successfully saved those organs. But you didn't, Father. That's the difference." He propped his chin in his hand, his elbow on his knee, "That's the new variable, introduced by the Yuuei environment. Monoma's brain was fully healed, preventing a horrific end to his consciousness or a hemorrhagic end. He got to keep his life and his mind with only a little emotional scarring."

"Mmm," Father turned his head slightly. Izuku watched as he fiddled with something on the computer screen. "I will be keeping an eye on him, nonetheless."

"Just an eye," Izuku said, "I'll take care of him myself."

"Of course," Father replied, "I won't touch the boy."

Izuku narrowed his eyes for a moment. Father gave nothing more away, though, simply sat in silence. Izuku heard a faint whine over the speakers as the silence settled heavily.

With a huff of breath, Izuku hopped up from the chair. He ran one more hand through his hair to straighten it out and idly brushed off his pants. "If that's all, I need to go. A growing boy like me needs rest if he's to do well in class." He paused for a second and then added, "You'll be watching the sport festival again this year, right?"

"My son is participating," Father replied, "Do you think I would miss it?"

Izuku shook his head, "No. I just thought I'd mention that there's a special afterparty this year. At the Todoroki residence. In case you want to turn your gaze there after the award ceremony."

"How kind of you to let me know," Father remarked. "I'll look forward to it."

Izuku gave him a wry little smile and then, while heading to the door, "Don't bother Daichi-san. I'll see myself out, Father."

"Travel home safely, my son," he said.

* * *

Katsuki woke suddenly when his arm slipped and he hit himself in the leg. He jerked upright and stared blankly at the wall above his desk while his mind rebooted into consciousness. The only light in the room was the red glow of his alarm clock, the outdoor streetlamps and the dull silver of the moon coming in through the window. It took a second for his brain to register the numbers (2:43 AM) and when he did, he swore under his breath.

His homework was smudged where he'd fallen asleep on it, but it looked mostly complete. He flipped the book shut and pushed up from the chair with a groan. His legs were stiff and his back ached from sleeping in that position so he took a moment to stretch out his muscles and his limbs before stumbling over to his bed.

Shedding clothing until he was down to his underwear, Katsuki crawled across the bed to the window to shut the blinds and block out the moon and streetlamps. He looked out before he did it and saw a shape trotting down the street. For a second, he couldn't make it out. Then the person- and it was most likely human since it was bipedal- passed around the outside of a circle of light from a streetlamp.

Avoiding the light made it impossible to make out details, but Katsuki saw messy dark hair poking out of the front of a hood. The cloth itself was a dark blue, looking almost black when the person was out of the light again. Katsuki blinked and rubbed his eyes to get a better sight, but by the time he looked again, they had vanished down the street. He saw a flash of a foot- a white edge to a shoe that reflected streetlight back- as they turned the corner to the left and then nothing.

The street was dark and quiet, as though no one had passed through it at all. Frowning, Katsuki closed the blinds. He hadn't seen them carrying anything- which a burglar most likely would have been- and with that bit of hair sticking out, it didn't seem likely they were hiding their face.

 _Someone's house might be being staked out,_ he thought as he lay down on his bed. _Is someone on the street out this week or next? ...I'll ask mom tomorrow…_

As soon as he settled into the bed, cheek on the pillow and a blanket pulled up to his chin, Katsuki fell asleep.

All that night, he dreamt about following footsteps in the dark.

* * *

 **TBC**


End file.
